Recent advances in lignocellulosic biomass white biotechnology for bioplastics

[Display omitted] •Lignocellulosic biomass as an alternative to glucose for bioplastic synthesis.•Aliphatic PLA and PHB are commercially available as bioplastics.•Aromatic biomonomers as starting materials for high-performance bioplastics.•Cost-effective technologies should be developed for biomonomer purification.•High thermal/mechanical performance of plastics from biomonomers. Lignocellulosic biomass has great potential as an inedible feedstock for bioplastic synthesis, although its use is still limited compared to current edible feedstocks of glucose and starch. This review focuses on recent advances in the production of biopolymers and biomonomers from lignocellulosic feedstocks with downstream processing and chemical polymer syntheses. In microbial production, four routes composed of existing poly (lactic acid) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and the emerging biomonomers of itaconic acid and aromatic compounds were presented to review present challenges and future perspectives, focusing on the use of lignocellulosic feedstocks. Recently, advances in purification technologies decreased the number of processes and their environmental burden. Additionally, the unique structures and high-performance of emerging lignocellulose-based bioplastics have expanded the possibilities for the use of bioplastics. The sequence of processes provides insight into the emerging technologies that are needed for the practical use of bioplastics made from lignocellulosic biomass.