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Wood Chemistry Lab
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A lab that investigates how lignin, a component of the plant cell wall, changes under chemical treatment.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the chemistry of plant biomass.
The Wood Chemistry Lab studies the chemistry of plant biomass.
The lab's name includes "wood" because most biomass exists as the cell walls of trees.
Focusing on lignin, the cell wall component whose structure is still poorly understood, the lab examines in detail how it reacts under chemical treatment.
In particular, it puts great effort into studying the reactions that occur during chemical pulping, the largest chemical use of plant biomass.
Key terms
- Cell wall
- The tough wall surrounding plant cells. Its main components are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
- Lignin
- One of the components that make up the cell walls of trees. It is a polymer with a complex structure in which small units are linked together irregularly.
- Chemical pulp
- Fibers obtained by treating wood with chemicals. It is a raw material for paper.
- Pulping (cooking)
- The process of boiling wood together with chemicals at high temperature to extract pulp.
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab's research rests on two pillars: elucidating the chemical structures of plant cell wall components, and analyzing how they react during chemical treatment. Centered on lignin chemistry, it puts the greatest emphasis on reactions during the chemical pulping process.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms of Lignin Oxidation
The lab broadly investigates the oxidation of lignin by oxygen-based oxidants, not limited to bleaching. Lignin is resistant to oxidation under ordinary conditions, and this is thought to be related to the global carbon cycle.
*Illustrative imageDegradation by Acids and Alkalis
The lab analyzes in detail how lignin degrades under acid treatment, which is commonly used in biomass utilization, and under alkaline treatment, which is used in the cooking of chemical pulp, in order to lead to efficient utilization technologies.
*Illustrative imageDegradation in Organic Solvents
Lignin dissolves more readily in organic solvents than in water, and it is thought that it can be degraded under milder conditions. The lab analyzes these reactions in detail, aiming to develop reaction processes that can be used for biomass utilization.
MembersFaculty
The Wood Chemistry Lab consists of faculty members, project researchers, and master's and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorTomoya YokoyamaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorToshihiro KomatsuPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Pine log cross-sections, Teutendorf” Radomianin / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms of Lignin Oxidation: “02 Vanillin crystals” Photon 400 750 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Degradation by Acids and Alkalis: “Wood pulp mill, Lewiston, Idaho( )” Greg Goebel from Loveland CO, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Degradation in Organic Solvents: “Scheidetrichter zwei Phasen brauner Hintergrund” HaJo88 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (セルロース化学研究室
（磯貝特別研究室） ): “Cotton boll nearly ready for harvest” Michael Bass-Deschenes(Commons User Mike Bass-Deschênes) / CC BY 2.0 (cropped) - Related lab (高分子材料学研究室): “BiodegradablePlasticUtensils2” Scott Bauer / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (製紙科学研究室): “Nanocellulose” Innventia / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (森林化学研究室): “Trametes versicolor 2025 G1” George Chernilevsky / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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