ABSTRACT
Chromatography has been firmly established as an effective means of separating the components of a mixture. Numerous variations in methodology have made application of chromatographic separation extremely versatile and suitable for use in some in rather specific problem areas. Gel-permeation chromatography is widely used now for fractionating and obtaining the molecular-weight distributions of homopolymers. The chemical and physical properties of cellulose and its derivatives, as well as chemical treatments applied to the polymer, are thoroughly covered in the vast literature on cellulose. Cellulose itself is a very poor subject for fractionation by chromatographic methods. In spite of the general extensive use of precipitation chromatography by polymer chemists, its successful application has not been matched in the field of cellulose chemistry. Carboxymethylcellulose was discussed because of its solubility in an aqueous solvent system and because of its fractionation by the hydrophilic gels used for cellulose.
