Determination of molecular weight parameters of native and, in particular, technical lignins are based on size exclusion chromatography (SEC) approaches. However, no matter which approach is used, either conventional SEC with a refractive index detector and calibration with standards or multi‐angle light scattering (MALS) detection at 488 nm, 633 nm, 658 nm, or 690 nm, all variants can be severely erroneous. The lack of calibration standards with high structural similarity to lignin impairs the quality of the molar masses determined by conventional SEC, and the typical fluorescence of (technical) lignins renders the corresponding MALS data rather questionable. Application of MALS detection at 785 nm by using an infrared laser largely overcomes those problems and allows for a reliable and reproducible determination of the molar mass distributions of all types of lignins, which has been demonstrated in this study for various and structurally different analytes, such as kraft lignins, milled‐wood lignin, lignosulfonates, and biorefinery lignins. The topics of calibration, lignin fluorescence, and lignin UV absorption in connection with MALS detection are critically discussed in detail, and a reliable protocol is presented. Correction factors based on MALS measurements have been determined for commercially available calibration standards, such as pullulan and polystyrene sulfonate, so that now more reliable mass data can be obtained also if no MALS system is available and these conventional calibration standards have to be resorted to.

Technical lignins (waste products obtained from wood pulping or biorefinery processes) have so far required lengthy analysis procedures and different eluents for molar-mass analysis by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). This challenge has become more pressing recently since attempts to utilize lignins have increased, leading to skyrocketing numbers of samples to be analyzed. A new approach, which uses the eluent DMSO/LiBr (0.5 % w/v) and converts lignosulfonate salts into their acidic form before analysis, overcomes these limitations by enabling measurement of all kinds of lignins (kraft, organosolv, soda, lignosulfonates) in the same size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) system without the necessity of prior time-consuming derivatization steps. In combination with ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), analysis times are shortened to one tenth of classical lignin GPC. The new approach is presented, along with a comparison of GPC and UPLC methods and a critical discussion of the analytical parameters.

In this study, a novel approach for isolation and purification of lignosulfonates from spent sulfite liquor was established.

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A method based on headspace-isotope dilution (HS-ID) GC-MS for the quantitative analysis of methoxyl and ethoxyl groups in any kind of lignin has been developed. The method involves the application of an isotopically labeled internal standard (4-(methoxy-d 3 )-benzoic acid and 4-(ethoxy-d 5 )-benzoic acid), which, together with lignin, undergoes standard hydroiodic acid cleavage of methoxyl and ethoxyl groups, followed by headspace GC-MS analysis of the respective deuterated and non-deuterated iodomethanes and iodoethanes. As also the internal standard is generated in situ during ether cleavage, any variations in the procedure are levelled out. The application of the isotopically labeled internal standard essentially increased the robustness of the overall approach. The accuracy and precision of methoxyl and ethoxyl group quantification in lignins have been assessed, and the data were compared to the classical Zeisel-Vieböck-Schwappach method for methoxyl groups in lignins. The novel approach for methoxyl and ethoxyl group determination showed a more satisfactory precision, accuracy, and also a much higher sample throughput, with approximately 40 samples per day.