Reactivities of Guaiacyl and Syringyl Lignin Model Phenols Towards Oxidation with Oxygen-Alkali

A range of guaiacyl and syringyl lignin model phenols was treated with oxygen in 1M potassium hydroxide solution at 70°C. The reactions were monitored by high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The reactions of the phenols, which followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, were faster for syringyl than for guaiacyl phenols. For the various 4-substituted syringols the reactivities were in decreasing order CH₂-syringyl > CHOH[sbnd]CH₃ π C₃H₇ ⁿ > CH₂OH > COOH > CHO > CO[sbnd]CH₃. Reaction of 1-guaiacylpropane in 1M potassium hydroxide with oxygen gave products of oxidative scission of the aromatic ring and no dehydrodimer, whereas at pH 11.5 some dehydrodimer was among the reaction products. Vanillyl alcohol and syringyl alcohol yielded vanillin and syringaldehyde, respectively, as minor oxidation products. However, the reaction sites for the series of phenols were generally the aromatic rings rather than the side-chains. Oxidation of alkaline solutions of the phenols with oxygen at 1.0 MPa pressure and 110 and 150°C gave similar mixtures of acids and hydroxyacids.     

Chemical Groups and Structural Characterization of Lignin via Thiol-Mediated Demethylation

A new approach to increase the reactivity of lignin by thiol-mediated demethylation was investigated in this study. Demethylated lignin was characterized by the changes in its hydroxyl and methoxyl groups, molecular weight, and other properties using titration and spectroscopy methods including FT-IR, ¹H NMR, UV, and GPC. The total, phenolic, and aliphatic hydroxyl contents in lignin increased while the methoxyl content decreased after demethylation reaction, which indicated the occurrence of demethylation reaction. The results from FT-IR and UV analysis also indicated that the kraft lignin in this study contains mainly guaiacyl moiety and demethylated lignin has a higher guaiacyl content than original lignin. The average molecular weight of lignin decreased after demethylation reaction due to the cleavage of ether linkages in lignin macromolecules. No severe degradation of lignin was observed during the demethylation reaction.     

Aromatic Products from Reaction of Lignin Model Compounds with UV-Alkaline Peroxide

A series of guaiacyl and syringyl lignin model compounds and their methylated analogues were reacted with alkaline hydrogen peroxide while irradiating with UV light at 254 nm. The aromatic products obtained were investigated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Guaiacol, syringol and veratrol gave no detectable aromatic products. However, syringol methyl ether gave small amounts of aromatic products, resulting from ring substitution and methoxyl displacement by hydroxyl radicals. Reaction of vanillin and syringaldehyde gave the Dakin reaction products, methoxy-1,4-hydroquinones, while reaction of their methyl ethers yielded benzoic acids. Acetoguaiacone, acetosyringone and their methyl ethers afforded several hydroxylated aromatic products, but no aromatic products were identified in the reaction mixtures from guaiacylpropane and syringylpropane. In contrast, veratrylpropane gave a mixture from which 17 aromatic hydroxylated compounds were identified. It is concluded that for phenolic lignin model compounds, particularly those possessing electron-donating aromatic ring substituents, ring-cleavage reactions involving superoxide radical anions are dominant, whereas for non-phenolic lignin models, hydroxylation reactions through attack of hydroxyl radicals prevail.     

Condensation Reactions of Softwood and Hardwood Lignin Model Compounds Under Organic Acid Cooking Conditions

In order to examine the condensation reactions of softwood and hardwood lignin during organic acid cooking, mixtures of benzyl alcohol type lignin model compounds with guaiacyl and syringyl units as the sources of benzyl cations and creosol and 5-methoxycreosol as the sources of electron-rich aromatic carbons were cooked under acidic pulping conditions.

From the yield of the condensation products in the initial reactions, it was shown that the carbonium cations of guaiacyl nuclei were more reactive than those of syringyl nuclei.

Syringyl type aromatic ring carbons had higher reactivities than guaiacyl type ones.

The cleavage of the benzyl ether bond in syringyl compounds was slower than that of guaiacyl compounds.

The diphenylmethane structures formed by the condensation reaction between veratryl alcohol and 5-methoxycreosol were found to be unstable under the strong acidic cooking conditions.

It is concluded that the condensation reactions between benzylic cations from the guaiacyl compounds and the electron rich aromatic ring carbons of syringyl ones are very fast, but the condensation products are unstable under the strong acidic pulping conditions.

When the guaiacyl nuclei react as an electron-rich aromatic carbon, the reaction is slower but the condensation product is much more stable.

These differences in reactivities, and the stabilities of the condensation products, may contribute to the resistance of softwood toward complete delignification on acid pulping.     

Molecular Characteristics of Kraft-AQ Pulping Lignin Fractionated by Sequential Organic Solvent Extraction

Kraft-AQ pulping lignin was sequentially fractionated by organic solvent extractions and the molecular properties of each fraction were characterized by chemical degradation, GPC, UV, FT-IR, (13)C-NMR and thermal analysis. The average molecular weight and polydispersity of each lignin fraction increased with its hydrogen-bonding capacity (Hildebrand solubility parameter). In addition, the ratio of the non-condensed guaiacyl/syringyl units and the content of β-O-4 linkages increased with the increment of the lignin fractions extracted successively with hexane, diethylether, methylene chloride, methanol, and dioxane. Furthermore, the presence of the condensation reaction products was contributed to the higher thermal stability of the larger molecules.     

Chemical Factors Underlying the More Rapid β-O-4 Bond Cleavage of Syringyl than Guaiacyl Lignin under Alkaline Delignification Conditions

This study aimed to clarify why the β-O-4 bond cleavage of syringyl lignin is more rapid than that of guaiacyl lignin under alkaline pulping conditions. We examined whether or not three chemical factors, acidity of the α-hydroxy group, nucleophilicity of the generated α-alkoxide, and leaving ability of the leaving phenoxide, are different between syringyl and guaiacyl lignins and control the rate of the alkaline-induced β-O-4 bond cleavage, employing dimeric non-phenolic β-O-4-type lignin model compounds (LMCs) and novel methods for estimating these three factors. The results indicated that the α-hydroxy groups of syringyl-type LMCs are relatively more acidic than those of guaiacyl-type and that syringyl nucleus is a better leaving group than guaiacyl nucleus in the β-O-4 bond cleavage. These factors result in the β-O-4 bond of syringyl lignin being more prone to the alkaline-induced cleavage than that of guaiacyl lignin.     

Effects of Green Liquor (GL) and Sodium Carbonate (SC) Pretreatment on Structural Characteristics of Wheat Stem Lignin

The content and structure of lignin have been considered as important factors that affect both pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, wheat stems (WS) were pretreated using mild alkali including green liquor (GL) and sodium carbonate (SC). The results indicate that GL pretreatment exhibits better delignification selectivity and higher enzymatic digestibility than SC pretreatment. Analysis of ¹H–¹³C HSQC NMR and FTIR on cellulolytic enzyme lignin (CEL) preparations isolated from untreated and pretreated WS also proves that a certain amount of lignin degrades which leads to a decrease of β-O-4′ linkages. Under mild alkaline conditions, more guaiacyl units in lignin are removed than syringyl units, which results in a higher condensation degree and S/G ratio of CELs isolated from GL- and SC-pretreated stems. Compared with p-coumarate structures, ferulates in lignin are more stable under mild alkaline conditions.     

竹子木素在GIF仿酶漂白中的降解机理

研究了竹子木素在GIF仿酶漂白中的降解机理,结果表明,GIF仿酶处理后,竹子木素酚羟基、醇羟基和对羟苯基增加,甲氧基、羰基、愈创木基和紫丁香基减少,β-O-4、β-1、β-5联接发生断裂,芳环开裂。此外,GIF仿酶处理后,竹子木素分子量下降,多分散性提高。     

Characteristics and Reactivity of Lignin in Acacia and Eucalyptus Woods

The chemical characteristics of lignin, including the Klason lignin content, acid-soluble lignin content, proportion of the aromatic ring types [syringyl ratio = syringyl/(syringyl + guaiacyl)], and proportion of the diastereomeric forms for the β-O-4 structure [erythro ratio = erythro/(erythro + threo)], and pulpability were investigated for 28 wood samples belonging to the genera Acacia and Eucalyptus. Although the lignin characteristics of these 28 woods varied widely, the chemical characteristics of the two genera could be categorized in two clearly distinguished groups on the basis of the syringyl ratio. Clear negative correlations were observed between both the syringyl and erythro ratios and the total lignin content (sum of the Klason and acid-soluble lignin contents) within each genus. In addition, the syringyl ratio correlated positively with the erythro ratio and acid-soluble lignin content, regardless of the genus. The existence of a clear, high correlation between the syringyl and erythro ratios supports the hypothesis that the aromatic ring type (syringyl ratio) is a decisive factor for controlling the diastereomeric forms of the β-O-4 structure (erythro ratio). Each of the wood samples was also subjected to Kraft pulping, and it was demonstrated that the woods with higher syringyl ratios were easier to delignify. This tendency is reasonably attributed to the high reactivity of the erythro-rich and syringyl-rich β-O-4 structures, and the low lignin content of these syringyl-rich woods.     

Relationships between Hemicellulose Composition and Lignin Structure in Woods

The composition and absolute amount of neutral sugars were determined for 48 hardwood species (including 17 hardwoods of genera Acacia, 14 hardwoods of genera Eucalyptus, and 17 hardwoods of other genera) and 14 softwood species by alditol-acetate method, and their relationships to the syringyl ratio (syringyl/(syringyl+guaiacyl)) of lignin, which was determined by nitrobenzene oxidation, was investigated. In the hardwood species, an increase in the syringy ratio of lignin correlated with a tendency toward increased xylose/glucose, rhamnose/glucose, and arabinose/glucose ratios. However, the absolute amount of glucose in hardwood was maintained in a small range (0.4–0.5 g in 1 g sample), independent of changes in the syringyl ratio. In the softwood species, with increasing lignin content, the mannose/glucose ratio decreased, but the absolute amount of glucose remained almost constant. In both hardwood and softwood species, a strong correlation was suggested between lignin, indicated by higher syringy ratio, and hemicellulose, indicated by higher xylan/mannan ratio.     

Engineering Plastics from Lignin. VIII. Phenolic Resin Prepolymer Synthesis and Analysis

A sequential derivatization of lignin with formaldehyde and phenol was investigated as a means of enhancing lignin's reactivity in phenol-formaldehyde resins. Kraft lignin (KL) and two novel biocon version lignins, steam explosion (SEL) and acid (H₂SO₄) hydrolysis lignin (AHL), were chemically modified by sequential reaction with formaldehyde and phenol. The results with regard to the chemical structure of the phenolic resin prepolymers showed that the ability to hydroxymethylate and phenolate is related to lignin structure. KL from pine proved to be more amenable to chemical modification with formaldehyde and phenol than was either SEL from aspen or AHL from pine. Degrees of substitution were determined by H-NMR spectroscopy and by oxidative analysis with alkaline permanganate. H-NMR spectroscopy revealed degrees of phenolation of 0.42, 0.29 and 0.21 per average C₉-unit for KL, AHL, and SEL, respectively; and permanganate oxidation illustrated that approximately 90%, 60%, and 60% of all available unsubstituted phenolic guaiacyl units in KL, AHL and SEL, but none of the corresponding non-phenolic or syringyl entities, had become derivatized.     

白腐菌Panus conchatus降解稻草木素机理研究──(二)木素降解产物高分子部分的结构特征

用定量(13)C－NMR技术研究了稻草经白腐菌Panusconchatus降解后木素的高分子部分的结构特征变化。与未经生物作用的木素相比较,发现发酵稻草木素的13C－NMR谱图出现新的吸收峰以及某些吸收峰的强度有明显变化。这些变化证实了在生物作用过程木素大分子中形成了醌类以及α-羟基酸的结构,这些类型的结构特别有利于木素进一步降解。并同时证实木素生物降解过程中发生β-O－4;Cα-Cβ及Cβ-Cγ键的断裂及Cγ的氧化。定量分析结果表明,经生物降解后木素大分子的甲氧基和羧基含量增加,愈疮木基和对羟基苯基结构单元优先降解,推断出此白腐菌对稻草的作用首先进攻纤维胞间层,其结果与电子显微镜所得的结果相一致。分析结果同时表明,生物降解优先发生于木索非缩聚结构单元。     

Rapid Hydrothermolysis of Poplar Wood: Comparison of Sapwood,Heartwood, Bark,and Isolated Lignin

Abstract

Rapid hydrothermolysis at 350°C of poplar sapwood, heartwood and bark, as well as the lignin extracted from the sapwood and heartwood, gives oil and water soluble fractions whose chemical analysis is correlated with the nature of the feed stock. Results from cellulose and Douglas fir are included, and the poplar bark and heartwood lignin are shown to give an ether soluble oil that consists mainly of guaiacyl units while the sapwood product is mainly syringyl. However, the chloroform soluble oil from both sapwood and heartwood was mainly syringyl with the additional presence of carbohydrate derived material in the heartwood oil. The acetone-only soluble residue from sapwood was shown by pyrolysis mass spectrometry to be mainly cellulose derived while that from heartwood was mainly from lignin. Thus there is a fundamental difference in the behaviour of the poplar sapwood and heartwood that may arise from different distributions of the guaiacyl and syringyl units, and of the binding to the cellulose. The origin of the rapid hydrothermolysis products with respect to the major wood components is discussed. An empirical approach to the calculation of the lignin content based on the rapid hydrothermolysis fractions is presented.     

蒜头果木质素提取及成分分析

采用一般碱法、超声波辅助和微波辅助从蒜头果壳和枝中提取木质素,分别测定了蒜头果壳和枝中木质素含量及木质素的提取率,并对所提取木质素进行红外和紫外光谱分析。克拉森木素定量法测得蒜头果壳和枝中木质素质量分数分别为44.41%±0.65%和34.57%±0.52%,在碱浓度0.5 mol/L、碱液量30 mL/g、超声波处理时间1 h、水浴温度40℃的提取工艺条件下,蒜头果壳和枝的木质素提取率分别为45.21%±0.59%和63.78%±0.73%。紫外和红外光谱显示超声波辅助方法提取的木质素保持了木质素原有结构,存在明显的愈疮木基和紫丁香基苯环结构;并通过黏度法比较了3种不同提取方法所得木质素的相对分子质量。     

Modified Kraft Pulping of Bagasse: Infrared Spectroscopy of Lignin

Abstract

The infrared spectroscopy of precipitated lignin from waste black liquors of bagasse pulping with kraft sulfite pulping process was investigated. Also the effect of anthraquinon and methanol addition in the soda, kraft and kraft-sulfite pulping liquor on the infrared specra of the precipitated lignin was studied. The presence of methanol in the pulping liquor causes an increase in the degradation as well as increase in the carboxylic group in the precipitated lignin. Also, the phenolic hydroxyl group in case of kraft lignin is higher than soda lignin. Presence of sulfite in the kraft-sulfite pulping liquor produces lignin hydroxyl groups.     

水溶性和碱溶性蔗渣木质素的分离与表征

以蔗渣为原料,经脱蜡后依次用H₂O、1% NaOH和3% NaOH进行抽提,分别得到水溶性木质素L1和碱溶性木质素L2、L3,并对其理化性质和结构特征进行分析。通过硝基苯氧化法、高效液相色谱检测来确定蔗渣木质素的组分,通过凝胶渗透色谱检测蔗渣木质素的分子质量,利用紫外分光光度计和二维核磁共振推导出蔗渣木质素的结构单元和连接方式。结果表明,L1、L2和L3的得率（以绝干原料计）分别为0.4%、5.7%和3.7%,占蔗渣木质素总量的54.1%,而且水溶性木质素分子质量大于碱溶性木质素。L2和L3主要来自于蔗渣次生壁,富含紫丁香基单元和大量的非缩合醚结构。蔗渣木质素的结构单元间的主要连接方式是β-O-4'醚键,还有β-β'、β-5'和β-1'等碳碳结构。蔗渣木质素是由紫丁香基、愈创木基和少量对羟苯基结构单元组成的GSH型木质素,此外,还含有对香豆酸和阿魏酸,通过酯键与木质素相连。     

Formation and Structure of Lignin in Monocotyledons. III. Heterogeneity of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) Lignin with Respect to the Composition of Structural Units in Different Morphological Regions

Heterogeneity of sugarcane lignin with respect to the composition of structural units in different morphological regions was studied by microautoradiography and some degradative analyses. Structure of the lignin differs among fiber, vessel and parenchyma. The lignin in the secondary wall of fiber is composed of syringyl (S)-, guaiacyl (G)- and p-hydroxyphenyl (H)-propane units with accompanying phenolic acid residues, and the proportion of these monolignols is S > G > H. The lignin in vessels of protoxylem contains more G and H units than S units, and that in vessels of metaxylem is similar to that in fibers. Phenolic acid constituent in sugarcane cell wall includes sinapic acid in addition to p-coumaric and ferulic acids. Ferulic acid deposits at the very early stage of lignification, and p-coumaric and sinapic acids increasingly deposit with the progress of lignification. Therefore, the ratio of p-coumaric acid or sinapic acid to ferulic acid increases with lignification. Parenchyma wall involves larger amount of phenolic acids than vascular bundle does. The lignin in parenchyma is difficult to isolate by Björkman procedure, because there is greater possibility to form cross-linkage among cell wall polymers through phenolic acids. The cross linkages involving phenolic acid ester also explains why the sugarcane lignin is easily degraded.     

Separation and Structural Characterization of Lignin from Hybrid Poplar Based on Complete Dissolution in DMSO/LiCl

In this paper, the physicochemical properties and structural features of six lignin preparations separated with a total dissolution of ball-milled wood in dimethyl sulfoxide and lithium chloride (DMSO/LiCl) followed by extraction with ethanol/water were investigated. These isolated lignin fractions were characterized using wet chemical analysis, FT-IR, and ¹H and¹³C-NMR techniques. Experimental results showed that separated lignin preparations were relatively free of associated polysaccharides. These lignin fractions were classified as guaiacyl-syringyl lignin type: mainly composed of guaiacyl units with noticeable amounts of syringyl units and fewer p-hydroxyphenyl units. The molar ratio of non-condensed guaiacyl units to syringyl units (G/S) decreased as the ratio of LiCl to poplar weight increased. The results also showed that these lignin preparations consisted mainly of β-O-4 ether bonds combined with small quantities of β-β′ and β-5 carbon-carbon linkages. Furthermore, considerable amounts of esterified p-hydroxybenzoic acids and minor amounts of esterified p-coumaric acid were also detected in these lignin fractions.     

纳米TiO2光催化降解碱木质素研究

通过纳米TiO2光催化氧化降解碱木质素,发现在木质素5g,催化剂用量为0．75g／L、光照时间为2．5h和pH值为10时,降解率可达70％以上。利用GC—MS对降解产物进行分析,结果表明,木质素本身具有复杂的结构形式,降解过程主要是进攻木质素侧链上的羰基和双键,使其发生氧化反应,改变结构或将侧链碎解。经过降解后可以得到紫丁香基衍生物、香草醛、愈创木基衍生物等小分子物质。     

Fractional Separation and Structural Characterization of Chlorophyll and Lignin from Perennial Ryegrass (L. perenne) and Cocksfoot Grass (D. glomerata)

Abstract

One chlorophyll rich fraction and two lignin preparations were separated from perennial grass and cocksfoot grass by sequential three‐stage treatments with 80% ethanol containing 0.2% NaOH, 2.5% H₂O₂?0.2% EDTA containing 1.5% NaOH, and 2.5% H₂O₂?0.2% TAED containing 1.0% NaOH at 75°C for 3 h, respectively, which released 4.6 and 3.6% chlorophyll rich fraction, 2.3 and 5.8%, and 0.9 and 1.0% lignin preparations, except for releasing 8.0 and 10.4%, 79.1 and 77.0%, and 12.9 and 12.5% of the original hemicelluloses, respectively. The lignin fractions obtained from the two different grasses had very similar molecular weights and structural composition. The NMR spectra of the lignin preparations revealed the presence of p‐hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, and syringyl structures, and the lignin in chlorophyll rich fraction contained more guaiacyl and syringyl units than p‐hydroxyphenyl unit, whereas the reverse trend was found in the two lignin preparations. The lignin preparations are distinguished with straw and wood lignins by relatively higher contents of p‐hydroxyphenyl unit and lower amounts of condensed units (β‐5 and 5‐5′) and resinol units (β‐β). This difference in distribution of structural units indicated some structural heterogeneity between grass and straw/or wood lignin.