Lignin is a renewable compound with great commercial potential. A cheap starting material which is readily available as a byproduct of common chemical pulping processes, it can replace fossil-based raw materials in a variety of products. Its conversion into value-added products promises huge economic benefits.
Currently numerous research institutions, in collaboration with industrial companies, are evaluating lignin utilization pathways. With new production strategies, the demand for suitable analytical procedures is growing rapidly.
Standard lignin analysis can be impeded due to contamination of the recovered material with various low molecular weight impurities. Thus, the search for robust, simplified means to analyze lignin is a topic of great interest. The present work represents an original approach to measure the molar mass of technical lignosulfonates by means of AF4-MALS. The method does not require laborintensive sample purification steps; it is fast and easy to implement in industrial laboratories. AF4-MALS provides reliable data in a short time and is therefore highly attractive from an economical point of view.
