To date, extensive research and developmental studies on the
effective utilization of lignocellulosic materials has been conducted.
However, the largest obstacle to the economic production
of cellulosic biofuels is cost-effectively releasing sugars from recalcitrant
lignocellulose (Zhang, 2008). One of the key problems hindering
the effective utilization of this renewable resource as a raw
material for chemical reactions and feeds is the low susceptibility
of lignocellulose to hydrolysis, which is attributable to the crystalline
structure of cellulose fibrils surrounded by hemicellulose and
the presence of the lignin seal which prevents penetration by
degrading enzymes (Gong et al., 1999).