Isolation of residual lignin from softwood kraft pulp. Advantages of the acetic acid acidolysis method

Lignin in kraft pulp was extracted by enzymatic hydrolysis of the carbohydrates, acidolysis with dioxane-water-HCl (conventional method), and acidolysis with acetic acid-water-ZnCl2. The latter method was shown to extract lignin with a better yield than for conventional acidolysis and with a much lower content in impurities than for enzymatic hydrolysis. It was confirmed by C-13 NMR analysis of the lignin samples that conventional hydrolysis modified the lignin polymer, causing the cleavage of some aryl-ether linkages. The cleavage was also observed on a model compound submitted to the same extraction conditions. In that respect, the acetic acid-water-ZnCl2 method was less damaging and consequently more suitable for analytical purposes. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier SAS on behalf of Acad6mie des sciences.