The simulation results of the main input and output streams of the biorefinery concept are presented in Table 3. The pre-treatment of beech wood is characterized by a high water
demand, as water is used as a solvent, as washing water for cellulose fibers and lignin as well as for the precipitation of lignin. Thus, a reduction of the water used, for example by thermal lignin precipitation, has great potential for optimizing the process. A smaller amount of water would result in a decrease in energy demand for solvent recovery within the organosolv process and facilitate the use of the C5 fraction in downstream processes.