Hydrogenolysis of Willst?tter lignin

Summary 1. The hydrogenolysis of Willstätter spruce lignin has been performed under the optimum conditions. It has been shown that on hydrogenolysis in an aqueous alkaline medium in the presence of an inhibitor (phenol) the lignin macromolecules can be converted into low-molecular-weight ether-soluble products with a yield of about 80%.2. A comparative study of the ether-soluble fractions of Willstätter spruce lignin and hydrolysis spruce lignin has shown that hydrogenolysis takes place similarly in the two cases: the yields of phenols and the proportion of cresols in them are similar. In the Willstätter spruce lignin, the yield of acids is higher and that of neutral products lower than in the hydrolysis spruce lignin.3. Investigations of the group compositions of the hydrogenolysis products and of model substances have permitted the hypothesis that the Willstätter lignin contains a considerable amount of biphenyl structures.Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 106–112, January–February, 1972.