Acid Precipitation of Kraft Lignin from Aqueous Solutions: The Influence of pH, Temperature, and Xylan

In this study, the manners in which temperature (45-77 degrees C) and the addition of xylan (5 g/95 g lignin) influence the onset of precipitation and evolution of the particle size distribution during acid precipitation of softwood kraft lignin were investigated in situ. No systematic trend between the onset pH of precipitation and the temperature or the addition of xylan could be observed at these conditions: the average onset pH was found to be 9.3. However, the size of the agglomerates increased as the temperature was increased, but added xylan rendered a decrease in agglomerate size. A higher onset pH was measured at increased Na ion concentration. The results indicate that the ionization degree of the phenolic groups influences the precipitation at 1 M Na ions but it is also probable that the degree of ionization of the carboxylic groups (on kraft lignin and xylan) influences precipitation (particle numbers and sizes).