Nanogreen is the new future: the conversion of lignin and lignocellulosic wastes into nanomaterials

The lignocellulose biorefinery industry has assumed an important role within the current scenario. Lignin is an abundant and available biopolymer and one of the compounds present in the lignocellulosic waste. Therefore, processing lignin into new materials and nanomaterials, such as nanolignin, has attracted the attention of the scientific community. Lignin nanoparticles are materials that have excellent properties, such as biodegradability and non-toxicity, and have great potential as chelating agents, antimicrobials agents, UV protectors, nanofillers, adsorbents, catalysts, supercapacitors, emulsion stabilizers, delivered systems, drugs, and gene carriers. This review article covers the emergent scenario of nanolignin and the main aspects of scientific interest, such as the conversion and functionalization of lignin, the valorization of lignocellulose waste, and nanoparticle synthesis. A techno-economic evaluation of the biorefinery model of the nanolignin synthesis is presented based on the simulation of the process on the experimental and commercial databases available and reported by some authors. Finally, the techno-economic assessment is complemented by the life cycle assessment of various nanolignin synthesis pathways reported to evaluate the environmental implications and support this emergent technology development.