LONDON: Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biofuel. They used genetic engineering to modify lignin to make it easier to break down without adversely affecting the tree's strength. The breakthrough will mean using fewer chemicals, less energy and creating fewer environmental pollutants. Lignin makes up a substantial portion of the cell wall of most plants and is a processing impediment for pulp, paper and biofuel.

Currently lignin must be removed, a process that requires significant chemicals and energy and causes undesirable waste.

"One of the largest impediments for the pulp and paper industry as well as the emerging biofuel industry is a polymer found in wood known as lignin," said Shawn Mansfield, a professor of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia. "We're designing trees to be processed with less energy and fewer chemicals and ultimately recovering more wood carbohydrate than is currently possible." The structure of lignin naturally contains ether bonds that are difficult to degrade. Researchers used genetic engineering to introduce ester bonds into the lignin backbone that are easier to break down chemically. The new technique means that lignin may be recovered more effectively and used in other applications, such as adhesives, insolation, carbon fibres and paint additives. In the future, genetically modified trees could be planted like an agricultural crop, not in forests.

Poplar is a potential energy crop for the biofuel industry because the tree grows quickly and on marginal farmland.

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Trees tweaked for easier papermaking