COCONUT HUSK LIGNIN .1. EXTRACTION AND CHARACTERIZATION

Recently lignin has been the object of a renewed interest because of the need to use raw materials from renewable resources. One such resource is coconut husk, a material usually discarded during the copra extraction process. Due to its high lignin content, coconut husk has been recognized as having a variety of applications. Therefore, it is important to know the approximate structure of coconut husk lignin and those variations introduced by different isolation methods. This work reports a general characterization of coconut husk lignin. Results are given of the contents of hydroxyl and noncondensed guaiacyl units, the extractability of the lignin in alkaline and "organosolv" media along with thermal properties of the extracted lignins. The extraction system of NaOH-anthraquinone at 150-degrees-C was most conveniently based on the relatively low amount of condensed lignin generated.