Simultaneous pyrolysis and trimethylsilylation with N-methyl-(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide for the characterisation of lignocellulosic materials from kraft pulping

Abstract

AbstractSimultaneous pyrolysis and trimethylsilylation (SPyT) withN-methyl-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) was used to characterise lignocellulosic materials from pine and eucalyptus obtained by kraft pulping. This approach protects the carboxyl groups and helps preserve the original structure of phenolic products during analytical pyrolysis, and so that pyrolysis and derivatisation occur simultaneously and the fragments of underivatised compounds are also silylatated. The SPyT products are representative for the structures present in carbohydrates and lignin of the investigated materials. The method is also suited to semi-quantitative evaluation also in terms of detection of condensed lignin structures in pulps and kraft lignins.