Characteristics of lignin obtained from steam-exploded softwood with soda/anthraquinone pulping

Lignins were obtained from a mixture of softwood sawdust using a hydrolytic pretreatment and a subsequent soda-anthraquinone delignification/pulping stage. Their potential uses and the effect of the pretreatment conditions on the yield (% of recovered lignin from black liquors) and chemical composition of isolated lignins were evaluated. The severity factor used combined the temperature and time of the hydrolytic process in a single ordinate (R-o). The severity range was modified from log R-o = 2.6 to log R-o=4.6 and the pulping conditions were constant throughout the experiments. The effect of the cooking time on the chemical composition of precipitated lignins was also studied between 135-170 min for original (non-pretreated) material. Yield, elemental analysis, molecular weight distribution, Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), structure, and the methoxyl and aliphatic/aromatic alcohol content of the various lignins, were compared.