Organosolv pretreatment is an efficient process for improvement of methane and ethanol production from sweet sorghum
stalks that contains free sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose) as
well as carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose). Without
degradation, the free sugars were released into the liquid phase
during pretreatment and the cellulose structure of the stalk was
significantly modified. Lignin and hemicellulose removal, lower
crystallinity of cellulose, and the opened-up structure of the pretreated sorghum bagasse render the conversion of the cellulose into
ethanol and biogas. Addition of acid to the organosolv pretreatment
can improve enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol production, but not
biogas yields.