Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation

Daniel J. Davidson; Geraud N. Sansom; Daniel M. Miles-Barrett; David B. Cordes; Alexandra M. Z. Slawin; James R. D. Montgomery; Tomas Lebl; Ann Connor; Andrew M. Danby; Mark J. Gronnow; Neil J. Parry; Sarah L. Hosking; David S. Grainger; Nicholas J. Westwood

doi:10.1039/D5FD00074B

Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and lignin^OX for valorisation

Daniel J. Davidson, Geraud N. Sansom, Daniel M. Miles-Barrett, David B. Cordes, Alexandra M. Z. Slawin, James R. D. Montgomery, Tomas Lebl, Ann Connor, Andrew M. Danby, Mark J. Gronnow, Neil J. Parry^*, Sarah L. Hosking^*, David S. Grainger^*, Nicholas J. Westwood^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Sitka Spruce (SiS) dominates wood production in Scotland and represents an important source of wood in the UK. A systematic analysis of the lignin obtained from SiS sawdust using methano-, ethano-, butano- and isobutano-solv pretreatments was carried out. Detailed analysis of the resulting lignin using a range of methods (GPC, ³¹P after phosphitylation and HSQC NMR) and assessment of solvent costs enabled a comparison of the 4 pretreatment methods. The high quality of the lignin obtained reflects its stabilisation through alcohol incorporation at the α-position of the β-O-4 units. Scale up of the butanosolv pretreatment led to the controlled synthesis of a selectively oxidised form of the lignin (SiS lignin^OX) on a relatively large scale. Additional insights into the detailed structure of lignin^OX are presented. It is argued that this interesting, modified biopolymer may have significant potential for enhanced lignin valorisation.

Original language	English
Number of pages	25
Journal	Faraday Discussions
Volume	Advance Article
Early online date	13 Jun 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FD00074B
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 13 Jun 2025

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Davidson_2025_FD_Organosolv-processing-Sitka-spruce-sawdust_CC
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Final published version, 1.28 MBLicence: CC BY

LignoFACT: Lignofact - High performance surfactants from lignin
Westwood, N. (PI)
Innovate UK
1/07/22 → 31/12/23
Project: Standard

Organosolv processing of Sitka Spruce sawdust: Large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation (dataset)
Davidson, D. J. (Creator), Sansom, G. (Creator), Miles-Barrett, D. (Creator), Cordes, D. B. (Creator), Slawin, A. M. Z. (Creator), Montgomery, J. (Creator), Lebl, T. (Creator), Connor, A. (Creator), Danby, A. M. (Creator), Gronnow, M. J. (Creator), Parry, N. J. (Creator), Hosking, S. L. (Creator), Grainger, D. S. (Creator) & Westwood, N. J. (Creator), University of St Andrews, 10 Sept 2025
DOI: 10.17630/fc7eab7c-0839-4ab1-a36d-489b2f266206
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Davidson, D. J., Sansom, G. N., Miles-Barrett, D. M., Cordes, D. B., Slawin, A. M. Z., Montgomery, J. R. D., Lebl, T., Connor, A., Danby, A. M., Gronnow, M. J., Parry, N. J., Hosking, S. L., Grainger, D. S., & Westwood, N. J. (2025). Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and lignin^OX for valorisation. Faraday Discussions, Advance Article. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FD00074B

@article{f42f120b90084e86a8a494dd0daa5742,

title = "Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation",

abstract = "Sitka Spruce (SiS) dominates wood production in Scotland and represents an important source of wood in the UK. A systematic analysis of the lignin obtained from SiS sawdust using methano-, ethano-, butano- and isobutano-solv pretreatments was carried out. Detailed analysis of the resulting lignin using a range of methods (GPC, 31P after phosphitylation and HSQC NMR) and assessment of solvent costs enabled a comparison of the 4 pretreatment methods. The high quality of the lignin obtained reflects its stabilisation through alcohol incorporation at the α-position of the β-O-4 units. Scale up of the butanosolv pretreatment led to the controlled synthesis of a selectively oxidised form of the lignin (SiS ligninOX) on a relatively large scale. Additional insights into the detailed structure of ligninOX are presented. It is argued that this interesting, modified biopolymer may have significant potential for enhanced lignin valorisation.",

author = "Davidson, {Daniel J.} and Sansom, {Geraud N.} and Miles-Barrett, {Daniel M.} and Cordes, {David B.} and Slawin, {Alexandra M. Z.} and Montgomery, {James R. D.} and Tomas Lebl and Ann Connor and Danby, {Andrew M.} and Gronnow, {Mark J.} and Parry, {Neil J.} and Hosking, {Sarah L.} and Grainger, {David S.} and Westwood, {Nicholas J.}",

note = "Funding: The authors thank Innovate UK (grant 10027463, Unilever PLC, BDC and NJW), the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC, DMM-B PhD) and EaSI-CAT at the University of St Andrews (DJD PhD) for funding. ",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "13",

doi = "10.1039/D5FD00074B",

language = "English",

volume = "Advance Article",

journal = "Faraday Discussions",

issn = "1359-6640",

publisher = "Royal Society of Chemistry",

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Davidson, DJ, Sansom, GN, Miles-Barrett, DM, Cordes, DB , Slawin, AMZ, Montgomery, JRD, Lebl, T, Connor, A, Danby, AM, Gronnow, MJ, Parry, NJ, Hosking, SL, Grainger, DS & Westwood, NJ 2025, 'Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and lignin^OX for valorisation', Faraday Discussions, vol. Advance Article. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5FD00074B

TY - JOUR

T1 - Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust

T2 - large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation

AU - Davidson, Daniel J.

AU - Sansom, Geraud N.

AU - Miles-Barrett, Daniel M.

AU - Cordes, David B.

AU - Slawin, Alexandra M. Z.

AU - Montgomery, James R. D.

AU - Lebl, Tomas

AU - Connor, Ann

AU - Danby, Andrew M.

AU - Gronnow, Mark J.

AU - Parry, Neil J.

AU - Hosking, Sarah L.

AU - Grainger, David S.

AU - Westwood, Nicholas J.

N1 - Funding: The authors thank Innovate UK (grant 10027463, Unilever PLC, BDC and NJW), the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC, DMM-B PhD) and EaSI-CAT at the University of St Andrews (DJD PhD) for funding.

PY - 2025/6/13

Y1 - 2025/6/13

N2 - Sitka Spruce (SiS) dominates wood production in Scotland and represents an important source of wood in the UK. A systematic analysis of the lignin obtained from SiS sawdust using methano-, ethano-, butano- and isobutano-solv pretreatments was carried out. Detailed analysis of the resulting lignin using a range of methods (GPC, 31P after phosphitylation and HSQC NMR) and assessment of solvent costs enabled a comparison of the 4 pretreatment methods. The high quality of the lignin obtained reflects its stabilisation through alcohol incorporation at the α-position of the β-O-4 units. Scale up of the butanosolv pretreatment led to the controlled synthesis of a selectively oxidised form of the lignin (SiS ligninOX) on a relatively large scale. Additional insights into the detailed structure of ligninOX are presented. It is argued that this interesting, modified biopolymer may have significant potential for enhanced lignin valorisation.

AB - Sitka Spruce (SiS) dominates wood production in Scotland and represents an important source of wood in the UK. A systematic analysis of the lignin obtained from SiS sawdust using methano-, ethano-, butano- and isobutano-solv pretreatments was carried out. Detailed analysis of the resulting lignin using a range of methods (GPC, 31P after phosphitylation and HSQC NMR) and assessment of solvent costs enabled a comparison of the 4 pretreatment methods. The high quality of the lignin obtained reflects its stabilisation through alcohol incorporation at the α-position of the β-O-4 units. Scale up of the butanosolv pretreatment led to the controlled synthesis of a selectively oxidised form of the lignin (SiS ligninOX) on a relatively large scale. Additional insights into the detailed structure of ligninOX are presented. It is argued that this interesting, modified biopolymer may have significant potential for enhanced lignin valorisation.

U2 - 10.1039/D5FD00074B

DO - 10.1039/D5FD00074B

M3 - Article

SN - 1359-6640

VL - Advance Article

JO - Faraday Discussions

JF - Faraday Discussions

ER -

Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation

Abstract

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LignoFACT: Lignofact - High performance surfactants from lignin

Datasets

Organosolv processing of Sitka Spruce sawdust: Large scale preparation of native-like lignin and ligninOX for valorisation (dataset)

Cite this

Organosolv processing of Sitka spruce sawdust: large scale preparation of native-like lignin and lignin^OX for valorisation