NNFCC Renewable Chemicals Factsheet: Biomass Pre-Treatment

This factsheet gives an overview of biomass pre-treatment.

Pre-treatment refers to a number of technologies which physically alter plant biomass to either change the amount of hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin or which alter the physical characteristics of the biomass to increase the efficiency of biomass breakdown.

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ technology. Pre-treatment technologies are usually bespoke to each production plant. Each technology has particular advantages and disadvantages, and the technology deployed at any given plant will depend upon the feedstock, the scale and the quality of the material required by a specific downstream process and market.