Glycans in Bioenergy and Materials Science

Plant glycans are used by humans for many purposes. Wood, which is composed predominantly of lignified secondary walls, is used as an energy source, as a building material, and for papermaking. Pectins isolated from the primary cell walls of fruits and polysaccharides isolated from seeds are used as thickeners, stabilizers, and gelling agents in many foods and beverages. Plant cell walls are the major component of forage used as animal feed. These walls, as dietary fiber, also contribute to human health. Recent concerns about unstable and diminishing oil supplies have led to renewed interest in using plant glycans as feedstocks for energy production, for the generation of polymers with improved or new functionalities, and for the generation of high-value chemical precursors. In this chapter, we briefly describe four broad categories—bioenergy, fine chemicals and feedstocks, polymeric materials, and nanomaterials—in which plant glycans have the potential to replace or to provide alternatives to petroleum-based products.