Technological, Commercial, Organizational, and Social Uncertainties of a Novel Process for Vanillin Production from Lignin

Lignin is a potentially rich source of aromatic compounds. Rhodococcus jostii RHA1Δvdh was bioengineered to accumulate vanillin when grown on lignin. Certain technological, commercial, organizational and social (TCOS) uncertainties will need to be addressed for RHA1Δvdh to be successfully adopted for commercial applications. Technologically, opportunities exist to utilize lignin for value-added chemicals. Commercially, entering the competitive vanillin market will be difficult. Opportunities exist to develop differentiated products and offer those products in emerging markets. Organizationally, commercialization might be expedited by licensing the technology to existing manufacturers. Socially, an opportunity exists to provide vanillin products from sustainable resources. Secondary stakeholders will need to be identified and engaged. Successfully addressing TCOS uncertainties of vanillin production using the new technology can demonstrate the viability of using lignin as a feedstock, potentially opening the door to using lignin as a source of other value-added chemicals such as resins, adhesives, polymers or biofuels.