Delignification of Wood of Populus tremula by Treatment with Ozone

Lignocellulose materials (LCMs) obtained after treatment of aspen (Populus tremula) wood with ozone were studied by diffuse reflectance UV spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The destruction of lignin (LG) proved most effective in the range of specific ozone consumptions of <= 1.5 mmol/g at >= 50% conversion of ozone. The destruction of syringyl and stilbene structures and other systems of conjugated double bonds of LG with ozone was highly efficient. Delignification of LCMs was accompanied by a multiple increase in the intensity of fluorescence (FL). The FL intensity was correlated with the fraction of LG destroyed by ozone. It was shown that wood treatment with ozone makes it possible to vary the luminescence spectral characteristics of LCMs, and fluorescence spectroscopy can be considered to be one of the most sensitive methods for monitoring the ozonolytic delignification of wood.

Automated summary

In this study, lignocellulose materials obtained from ozone treatment of aspen wood were analyzed using various spectroscopic techniques. The results showed that ozone was most effective in destroying lignin within a specific range of ozone consumption, and the destruction of lignin was associated with an increase in fluorescence intensity.