Abstract
Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography of the carbohydrate fraction of sirups obtained from the fast pyrolysis of Avicel cellulose (82% yield of organic liquid) indicated the presence of a considerable amount of an unknown oligosaccharide, presumably a disaccharide. If this was formed from recombination of levoglucosan (the major product) it would be expected to be a mixture of disaccharides, with maltosan as a major component. If the unknown disaccharide was a primary product it should have a cellobiose structure. Maltosan and cellobiosan were synthesized and the unknown disaccharide was identified as almost entirely cellobiosan in yields varying from 6 to 15% of the sirup product. It is postulated that the production of cellobiosan as a primary pyrolysis product lends support to recent theories that cellulose is a polymer of cellobioside units rather than of glucoside units.
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