Investigating lignin-derived monomers and oligomers in low-molecular-weight fractions separated from depolymerized black liquor retentate by membrane filtration

• Base-catalyzed depolymerization of black liquor retentate (BLR) from the kraft pulping process, followed by ultrafiltration, has been suggested as a means of obtaining low-molecular-weight (LMW) compounds. The chemical complexity of BLR, which consists of a mixture of softwood and hardwood lignin that has undergone several kinds of treatment, leads to a complex mixture of LMW compounds, making the separation of components for the formation of value-added chemicals more difficult. Identifying the phenolic compounds in the LMW fractions obtained under different depolymerization conditions is essential for the upgrading process. In this study, a state-of-the-art nontargeted analysis method using ultra-high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography coupled to high-resolution multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (UHPSFC/HRMSn ) combined with a Kendrick mass defect-based classification model was applied to analyze the monomers and oligomers in the LMW fractions separated from BLR samples depolymerized at 170–210◦ C. The most common phenolic compound types were dimers, followed by monomers. A second round of depolymerization yielded low amounts of monomers and dimers, while a high number of trimers were formed, thought to be the result of repolymerization.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Pappers-, massa- och fiberteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Paper, Pulp and Fiber Technology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Black liquor retentate

Depolymerization

Identification

Monomer

Oligomers

Publikations- och innehållstyp

art (ämneskategori)

ref (ämneskategori)