Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 62 (2002) 365–373 www.elsevier.com/locate/jaap Laser micropyrolysis GC – MS of lignin Paul F. Greenwood a, *, Jasper D.H. van Heemst b , Elizabeth A. Guthrie b,1 , Patrick G. Hatcher b a CSIRO, Diision of Petroleum Resources, PO Box 136, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia b Department of Chemistry, Ohio State Uniersity, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Received 14 November 2000; accepted 12 February 2001 Abstract The potential for using lasers as a highly directional thermal source in analytical pyrolysis studies is further investigated by the laser micropyrolysis GC – MS analysis of lignin moieties. Two woods representative of the main types of lignin (i.e. gymnosperm/guaiacyl producing and angiosperm/syringyl and guaiacyl producing) were separately analysed by both laser micropyrolysis GC–MS and the longer used pyroprobe pyrolysis GC–MS. High levels of correlation were observed from the laser and pyroprobe pyrograms of both lignins. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Micropyrolysis; Laser pyrolysis; GC – MS; Lignin; Guaiacyl; Syringyl 1. Introduction Lignin, an important component of wood cell walls, provides rigidity and protection for plants. Lignin is slowly degraded by microorganisms, thus comprises a significant component of the organic matter present in soils and terrestrial sediments [1,2], and is a significant precursor to both humin [1] and coals [3]. The molecular structure of lignin is difficult to determine because of its high recalci- trance, due in part to its poor solubility. One technique, pyrolysis GC–MS, has provided some important molecular information on lignin [4 – 8] and lignite coals * Corresponding author. Present address: Australian Geological Survey Organisation (AGSO), G.P.O. Box 378, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia. Fax: +61-2-6249-9961. 1 Present address: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, The University of Tennes- see, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA. 0165-2370/02/$ - see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0165-2370(01)00135-8