Lignin is a complex phenylpropanoid polymer which present between the cell-wall of plant cells and the second largest biomass after cellulose. This structural component is important in plant as they provide physical strength imparting stiffness to the plant cells that enables the plant to transport water and solutes through the treachery elements in plant vasculature system. In pulp and paper industry, delignification is an important step to produce high quality of fiber for paper making. Nevertheless, hindrance from lignin recalcitrant has make pulping process inefficient in both chemical and mechanical methods. This has resulted in pulping process to use more chemicals, high energy consumption and releasing pollutants to the environments. A greener technology or enzyme-based processing might be one of the alternative to improve pulping process. Researchers have been studied to remove lignin using enzymes produced by isolated microorganism from the gut of wood feeding insects or soil. This paper will provide a review on lignin and previous studies about lignin degradation using enzymes such as lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, versatile peroxidase, dye-decolorizing peroxidase and laccase. The discussion in this paper is focused on issues pertaining the efficiency of using enzymes to degrade lignin which also known as bio-delignification. Also, the challenges in implementing bio-based method for pulping process is mentioned in this paper.
The demand for enzyme as biocatalyst is increasing for biotechnological based industry. This is due to their ability to catalyze specific biochemical reactions and able to generate products that have significant commercial value. Some of these enzymatic reactions cannot be replicated using conventional organic synthesis process. On the other hand, insects have evolved and established various enzymatic pathways that are not only important for their survival but also valuable. Therefore, scientists and engineers are searching a way to utilize insect’s enzyme for industrial processing as an alternative for greener technology. A high-level idea about how the biological systems work, evolve and interconnect in nature is essential in order to put the application into the industry. A new field of innovation to increase performance and reliability, discoveries are in turn solving some of technology’s greatest challenges as the demand for cleaner and greener technology is rising. This paper will review on the application of insect’s enzyme as a biocatalyst in the field of biopharmaceutical, agricultural, food and pulp and paper industry.