A colorimetric method for quantitative determination of lignin surface area

What is it about?

In this article, we developed a quantitative method for determining surface area (SA) of lignin in solid-state. The method is based on specific interaction between a cationic dye and acidic hydroxyl groups of lignin. The adsortpion isotherms were determined for several lignocellulosic materials. The results obtained with a commercial alkali lignin were evaluated using phosphorus NMR. A single-point procedure was developed for analysis of lignin SA in wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse and oat husks.

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Why is it important?

Lignin is the main non-carbohydrate component of lignocellulose. Lignin impedes enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates in several ways. In the lignocellulosic biorefinery context, complete removal of lignin from the feedstock is not possible. Thus, reduction in lignin SA would be a straighforward way to optimize pretreatment processes that aim at rendering carbohydrates more accessible to hydrolytic enzymes.