Determination of Low-Molecular-Mass Phenolic and Non-Phenolic Lignin Degradation Compounds in Wood Digestion Solutions by Capillary Electrophoresis

 Different capillary electrophoretic techniques were investigated and compared for the separation of low-molecular-mass phenolic and neutral lignin degradation compounds. Simple capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was not suited for this problem. Switching to micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) by adding micelle-forming reagents to the carrier electrolyte enhanced the separation performance considerably. Alternatively, microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was investigated. This is a CE technique in which analytes interact with moving oil droplets present in a microemulsion buffer. Using the optimized carrier electrolyte systems and a 60 cm×50 μm I.D. bubble cell capillary it was possible to analyse solutions of different wood digestion procedures and to investigate differences in lignin degradation products during use of different kinds of wood (eucalyptus, beech, scotch pine and acacia). Received August 25, 1999. Revision April 13, 2000