What is lignocellulose? Lignocellulose refers to the specific structure of biomass. The main constituents of lignocellulosic biomass comprises lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. This is a complex structure in which the cellulose is surrounded by a monolayer of hemicellulose and embedded in a matrix of hemicellulose and lignin. Furthermore lignin specifically creates a barrier to enzymatic attack while the highly crystalline structure of cellulose is insoluble in water while the hemicellulose and lignin create a protective sheath around the cellulose. This structure can be seen in the image below.