Biomass is one of the most energetically and economically interesting raw materials on our planet. Plant biomass is primarily made up of the biopolymers cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, whereby the individual polymers can be used in the chemical industry, energy production and for biochemical issues. This makes them interesting raw materials, especially in view of the ongoing energy transition and the shortage of crude oil. Depending on the plant species and the growth conditions, the proportion of individual biopolymers and, above all, the structural composition of these macromolecules within the plant biomass can vary significantly in some cases. A detailed characterisation of these complex multi-component mixtures (see Figure 1) using ultra-high-resolution analysis methods is essential so that the individual biopolymers can be used industrially and new areas of application can be developed.

With the help of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), both the soluble and insoluble fractions of the biopolymers can be analysed in detail with regard to their basic structure, their chemical functionalities and their molecular mass distribution. The high resolution of FT-ICR-MS enables the separate characterisation of molecules whose ionic masses only differ from each other to the sixth decimal place.