NaOH, SPC and SPC/NaOH degrade high molar mass fractions in the range of 10 4 g/mol to 10 5 g/mol, whereas fractions are built up in the medium molar mass range of 10 3 g/mol. In the case of the SPC/NaOH sample ground for 5 minutes, degradation is even observed up to 7 • 10 3 g/mol. In contrast, in the lower molar mass range, lignin fractions are generated uniformly over a wide range from 10 2 g/mol to 10 3 g/mol.