Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T02:03:09.006Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Lignins: Structure and Distribution in Wood and Pulp

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2011

John R. Obst*
Affiliation:
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53705–2398
Get access

Abstract

Lignin is the stuff that makes trees “woody.” Usually constituting from one-fifth to one-third of wood, lignin strongly influences its chemical and physical properties. A major use of wood is for the production of pulp for paper and paperboard products. The residual lignin in pulp fibers greatly affects paper properties and, therefore, the uses of these pulps.

Lignin is a rather unusual substance. Polymerized through radical coupling of propenylphenols, it forms several types of interunit bonds and a three-dimensional network may result. The lignin of gymnosperms (softwoods) is made up mostly of a single monomer type. As a result, the lignins of gymnosperms do not differ much from species to species. However, the lignins of angiosperms (hardwoods) do vary considerably among species because these lignins are derived from two monomer types which are often present in differing proportions. Furthermore, the ratio of monomer types may vary among different cell types and between cell regions within a species.

This review, intended mainly for those unfamiliar with the details of lignin chemistry, will provide an overview of the formation, structure and distribution of lignins in wood and of the distribution of lignin in pulp fibers.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Fengel, D. and Wegener, G., Wood, Chemistry, Ultrastructure, Reactions, (Walther de Gruyter, New York, 1984).Google Scholar
2. Sarkanen, K.V. and Ludwig, C.H., Eds., Lignins, Occurrence, Formation, Structure and Reactions, (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1971).Google Scholar
3. Higuchi, T., Ed., Biosynthesis and Biodegradation of Wood Components, (Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1985).Google Scholar
4. Rowell, R., Ed., The Chemistry of Solid Wood, (ACS Advances in Chemistry Series 207, Washington, D.C. 1984).Google Scholar
5. Glasser, W.G. and Sarkanen, S., Eds., Lignin, Properties and Materials, (ACS Symposium Series 397, Washington, D.C., 1989)Google Scholar
6. Lewis, N.G. and Paice, M.G., Eds. Plant Cell Wall Polymers, Biogenesis and Biodegradation, (ACS Symposium Series 399, Washington, D.C., 1989).Google Scholar
7. Wood, W.A. and Kellog, S.T., Eds. Methods in Enzymology, Volume 161, Biomass, Part B: Lignin, Pectin and Chitin, (Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1988).Google Scholar
8. Timell, T.E., Compression Wood in Gymnosperms, (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1986).Google Scholar
9. Robinson, J.M., Historical Biology, In press.Google Scholar
10. Sakakibara, A., Wood Science and Technology 14, 89 (1980).Google Scholar
11. Nimz, H., Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 13, 313 (1974).Google Scholar
12. Obst, J.R. and Landucci, L.L., Holzforschung 40 (Suppl.), 87 (1986).Google Scholar
13. Eriksson, I., Lidbrandt, O. and Westermark, U., Wood Science and Technology 22, 251 (1988).Google Scholar
14. Westermark, U., Wood Science and Technology 19, 323 (1985).Google Scholar
15. Westermark, U., Lidbrandt, O. and Eriksson, I., Wood Science and Technology 22, 243 (1988).Google Scholar
16. Boutelje, J.B. and Ericksson, I., Holzforschung 38, 249 (1984).Google Scholar
17. Saka, S. and Goring, D.A.I., in Biosynthesis and Biodegradation of Wood Components, edited by Higuchi, T., (Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1985), p. 51.Google Scholar
18. Wood, J.R. and Goring, D.A.I., Pulp and Paper Magazine of Canada 72, T95 (1971).Google Scholar
19. Fergus, B.J., Procter, A.R., Scott, J.A.N. and Goring, D.A.I., Wood Science and Technology 3, 117 (1969)Google Scholar
20. Hardell, H.-L., Leary, G.J., Stoll, M. and Westermark, U., Svensk Papperstidning 83, 71 (1980).Google Scholar
21. Obst, J.R., Sachs, I.B. and Kuster, T.A., Holzforschung 42, 229 (1988).Google Scholar
22. Obst, J.R., Landucci, L.L. and Manders, W.F., Fourth International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry (Paris) Volume 1, p. 273 (1987).Google Scholar
23. Fergus, B.J. and Goring, D.A.I., Wood Science and Technology 24, 113 (1970).Google Scholar
24. Musha, Y. and Goring, D.A.I., Wood Science and Technology 9, 45 (1975).Google Scholar
25. Procter, A.R., Yean, W.Q. and Goring, D.A.I., Pulp and Paper Magazine of Canada 68, T445 (1967).Google Scholar
26. Wood, J.R., Ahlgren, P.A. and Goring, D.A.I., Svensk Paperstitdning 75, 15 (1972).Google Scholar
27. Philips, R.B. and McIntosh, D.C., TAPPI 58(2), 76 (1975).Google Scholar
28. Lewis, N.G. and Lantzy, T.R., in Adhesives from Renewable Resources, edited by Hemmingway, R.W., Conner, A.H. and Branham, S.J. (ACS Symposium Series 385, Washington, D.C., 1989) p. 13.Google Scholar
29. Glasser, W.G., in Adhesives from Renewable Resources, edited by Hemmingway, R.W., Conner, A.H. and Branham, S.J. (ACS Symposium Series 385, Washington, D.C., 1989) p. 43.Google Scholar