A new route to high yield sugars from biomass: phosphoric–sulfuric acid

Abstract

We have developed a simple and effective route for the high yield extraction of sugars from cellulosic based biomass. This process uses a combination of a cellulose decrystallization step with a mixture of phosphoric and sulfuric acid, followed by a hydrolysis step producing sugars (xylose and glucose) with yields of approximately 90%.