Extraction of lignocellulosic materials from waste products

The need to both avoid waste production and find new renewable resources has led to new and promising research based on the possibility of revalorizing the biomass producing sustainable chemicals and/or materials. This may play a major role in replacing systems traditionally obtained from non-renewable sources. Most of the low-value biomass is termed lignocellulosic, referring to its main constituent biopolymers: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Different extraction methods were optimized over the years for the extraction of these components from natural fibers and sources, and most of these techniques have been adapted for the extraction of lignocellulosic components from agricultural and forest wastes. This chapter reviews the characteristics, applications, and especially, the extraction methods for lignocellulosic materials (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), focusing on their advantages and drawbacks in terms of technical issues and environmental impact. Also reported and discussed are a number of recent advances developed in our laboratories.