Quantitative ^31p NMR Analysis of Lignocellulosic Materials in Ionic Liquids

In an effort to utilize NMR technique for the analysis of the structural components of wood and biomasses such as lignin, we made a comparative study of lignin contents of several types of lignocellulosic materials both before and after enzymatic hydrolyses. To this end, Eucalyptus Globulus, Norway spruce thermomechanical pulp(TMP) corn stover and Eucalyptus kraft pulp were ball-milled and treated with cellulase to prepare materials with high lignin contents. These materials were analyzed via 31P NMR in ionic liquids. The results show that the contents of various functional groups for the lignocellulosic materials after enzymatic hydrolyses are generally in agreement with those from their corresponding enzymatic mild acidolysis liginins(EMALs), indicating that 31P NMR analysis of lignocellulosic materials in ionic liquids is a promising method for quantitative characterization of lignocellulosic materials.