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Prediction of Lignin Contents from Infrared Spectroscopy: Chemical Digestion and Lignin/Biomass Ratios of Cryptomeria japonica

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Abstract

A method for the high-throughput analysis of the relative lignin contents of Cryptomeria japonica samples over a wide concentration range (3–73%), independent of the type of chemical pretreatment, was developed by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. First, the assignments of the infrared absorbance related to lignin were reviewed. Then, various chemical treatments, including alkaline, acid, and hydrothermal processes, and a sodium chlorite oxidation treatment, were performed to prepare samples containing a wide range of different lignin contents. Principal component analysis indicated high variability among the chemical treatments in terms of the corresponding lignin contents as well as the resulting changes in the chemical structure of hemicellulose; this conclusion was supported by the loading vectors. The intensity of the key band of lignin at 1508 cm−1 was calculated using the absorbance at 2900 cm−1 as a reference; a reliable calibration curve with an R2 of 0.968 was obtained independent of the chemical treatment performed. This simple and rapid method for determining the lignin content is expected to be widely applicable for optimizing bioethanol production, as well as monitoring biomass degradation processes.

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Funding

This research study was jointly supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) (Grant Nos. 17K19283 and 17H03840) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshiki Horikawa & Seiya Hirano

  2. Tsukuba Research Laboratory, Japan Bioindustry Association, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Asako Mihashi & Yoshinori Kobayashi

  3. College of Wood Science and Technology, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China

    Shengcheng Zhai & Junji Sugiyama

  4. Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, Japan

    Junji Sugiyama

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  1. Yoshiki Horikawa
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  2. Seiya Hirano
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  3. Asako Mihashi
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  4. Yoshinori Kobayashi
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  5. Shengcheng Zhai
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Correspondence to Yoshiki Horikawa.

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Horikawa, Y., Hirano, S., Mihashi, A. et al. Prediction of Lignin Contents from Infrared Spectroscopy: Chemical Digestion and Lignin/Biomass Ratios of Cryptomeria japonica. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 188, 1066–1076 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-019-02965-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-019-02965-8

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