Interpreting Multicomponent Infrared Spectra, 1992 Environmental Conference Proceedings
The complexity of a multi-component spectrum decreases as constituents are removed from it. This decrease is reflected by a reduction in intensity of the first derivative. If the spectrum of a candidate is subtracted stepwise from a multi-component spectrum and a derivative is taken at each stage, then the candidate will be identified in the mixture if the derivative mini-mizes. An application to the determination of lignin in pulp will be presented together with preliminary work on the spectral identification of recycled fiber.