The posttreatment of various organosolvs pretreated wheat straw with cyanamide-activated hydrogen peroxide was studied. About 44-80% of the total residual lignin and 38-85% of the total residual hemicelluloses were released or degraded during the posttreatment with 1.8%, H2O2-0.18% cyanamide at 50 degrees C under pH 1.0.0 for 4 h from different aqueous organic acids or alcohols pretreated straw. The seven degraded residual lignin preparations were subjected to a comprehensive physicochemical and structural characterization by UV, FTIR, and H-1 and (NMR)-N-13 spectroscopy, and GPC. The nitrobenzene oxidation method was also applied to the in situ lignins. It was found that the seven residual lignin preparations contained large amounts of noncondensed syringyl and guaiacyl units, together with fewer noncondensed p-hydroxyphenyl units, esteritied p-coumaric acid, and mainly etherified ferulic acid. All of the lignin fractions are free of associated polysaccharides and had molecular-average weights ranging between 2980 and 3820 g mol(-1). Analysis of these low molecular weight degradation products revealed an oxidation of residual lignin had occurred. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.