Biofuels and biomaterials, produced from lignocellulosic feedstock, require facile access to cellulose and
hemicellulose to be competitive with petroleum processing and sugar-based fermentation. Physicalchemical
barriers resulting from lignin complicates the hydrolysis biomass into fermentable sugars. Thus,
the amount of lignin within a substrate is critical in determining biomass processing. The application of
13C cross-polarization, magic-angle spinning, and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance for the direct
quantification of lignin content in biomass is examined. Using a standard curve constructed from pristine
lignin and cellulose, the lignin content of a biomass sample is accurately determined through direct measurement
without chemical or enzymatic pre-treatment.