Using an architectural analogy, she likens cellulose to steel rebar, while lignin (which fills the spaces in a plant's cell wall between cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin components) corresponds to the concrete. These two intertwined elements enable a plant to stand up straight, but the "rebar and concrete" just get in the way when we try to extract fuel from biomass.
她解釋，纖維素像鋼筋、木質素則像水泥，兩者緊緊包在一起，讓植物可以挺直站立。然而，要利用植物做能源時，「鋼筋水泥」卻是阻礙。