The present invention provides for novel metabolic pathways leading to acrylate formation in a consolidated bio-processing system (CBP) where lignocellulosic biomass is efficiently converted to acrylate. In one such metabolic pathway, pyruvate is converted to lactate, which is converted to lactoyol-CoA, which is converted to acryloyl-CoA, and which is finally converted to acrylate. In another such metabolic pathway, pyruvate is converted to L-α-alanine, which is converted to L-aspartate, which is converted to β-alanine, which is converted to β-alanyl-CoA, which is converted to acryloyl-CoA, and which is finally converted to acrylate. In yet another metabolic pathway, pyruvate is converted to lactate, and then lactate is converted directly to acrylate. In certain aspects, the invention provides for heterologous expression of one or more enzymes in a mesophilic or thermophilic organism, such as Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum or Clostridium thermocellutn, where the one or more enzymes functions within a novel metabolic pathway as described above to convert pyruvate to acrylate via lactate, or via β alanine and acryloyl-CoA.