ANALYTICAL PYROLYSIS OF ALCOHOL BISULFITE LIGNIN

A high molecular weight lignin fraction, alcohol bisulfite lignin, was isolated from the spent liquor of alcohol bisulfite pulping of Japane se cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) wood and subjected to analytica l pyrolysis. The resulting products were compared with those from the original wood, its milled wood lignin and a synthetic lignin. The alco hol bisulfite lignin yielded several characteristic pyrolysis products compared with the other samples: a large yield of 4-propylguaiacol an d small amounts of methylated compounds. Furthermore, analytical pyrol ysis of the alcohol bisulfite lignin gave a much smaller yield of coni feryl alcohol than that from Japanese cedar wood. These differences ar e due to the chemical change in the lignin structure as a result of th e alcohol bisulfite treatment.