Comparison testing of methods for gel permeation chromatography of cellulose: coming closer to a standard protocol

A round robin on GPC of a wide range of different pulp samples was conducted among leading groups in cellulose analysis. The aim was to survey the status quo of the methods available to date. The pulp samples covered not only fully-bleached dissolving pulps but also bleached paper pulps and one un-bleached sample. The methods applied were current state-of-the-art GPC with RI, MALLS, and viscosimetry detectors. Different dissolution protocols were compared as well. Following from the obtained results, more standardized protocols were proposed for approaches with different equipment (RI or MALLS/RI) and solvent systems (direct dissolution or derivatization). Major influencing factors, such as derivatization compared to direct solution, calibration versus light scattering and in-between lab variation, were discussed.