Development and validation of a fast high pressure liquid chromatography method for the analysis of lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis and fermentation products

A simple, precise, and accurate 10-min high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the analysis of organic acids, alcohols, and furans from processing biomass into renewable fuels. The method uses an H⁺ form cation-exchange resin stationary phase that has a five-fold shorter analysis time versus that in the traditional method. The new method was used for the analysis of acetic acid, ethanol, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, and furfural. Results were compared with a legacy method that has historically has been used to analyze the same compounds but with a 55 min run time. Linearity was acceptable on the new method with r² > 0.999 for all compounds using refractive index detection. Limits of detection were between 0.003 and 0.03 g/L and limits of quantification were between 0.1 and 0.01 g/L. The relative standard deviations for precision were less than 0.4% and recoveries ranged from 92% to 114% for all compounds.