Chemical studies on oils derived from aspen poplar wood, cellulose, and an isolated aspen poplar lignin

Abstract

An initial study has been made of the chemical nature of the oil phase resulting from the the conversion of aspen poplar wood, cellulose, and an isolated lignin from the aspen poplar as a result of their interactions with water and carbon monoxide in the presence of sodium carbonate at 360 °C. Gas chromatographic analysis of the sodium hydroxide soluble fractions from each substrate revealed similar spectra of alkyl-substituted phenols. The relative abundance of identified low molecular weight phenolic compounds decreased from lignin to wood to cellulose. This was in agreement with the known phenolic nature of lignin. As well, it confirmed the synthesis during reaction of such compounds from a carbohydrate substrate. Gas chromatographic analysis of the whole oils also revealed the presence in each case of several alkyl-substituted cyclopentanones whose relative abundance decreased from cellulose to wood to lignin. Silica gel column separation of the oils, after a charcoal treatment, followed by capillary gas chromatographic – mass spectrometric analyses of the resulting fractions indicated the presence of other higher molecular weight phenols, napthols, cycloalkanols, cycloalkanones, and polycyclic and long chain alkanes and alkenes.