Size-exclusion chromatography of technical lignins in dimethyl sulfoxide/water and dimethylacetamide

Well defined spent sulfite liquor samples and lignosulfonate fractions obtained by ultrafiltration were analyzed using size-exclusion chromatography. Two different eluent systems (dimethyl sulfoxide/water/lithium bromide; dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride) were compared regarding their suitability for lignin analysis. The differences of the elution profiles and calculated molar masses were discussed using conventional and universal calibration. For further validation four technical lignins from a Round Robin test were included into the study. The results indicated that both analytical systems under investigation were well suited for the analysis of technical lignins.