The reactivity of lignin carbohydrate complex (LCC) during manufacture of dissolving sulfite pulp from softwood

The presence of covalent bonds between lignin and polysaccharides was investigated in dissolving pulps made with one-stage and two-stage acidic sulfite pulping for 100% pine heartwood raw material. The covalent bonds between lignin and pulp polysaccharides occurred mainly to xylan and glucomannan and were of the phenyl glycosides and γ-esters types. The α-ethers that are common in wood were missing in the studied pulp samples. Based on these findings and known lignin reactions during sulfite pulping, a mechanism explaining the absence of the α-ethers is discussed. It is suggested that the lignin carbohydrate bonds may play a vital role in lignin recalcitrance.