Pretreating non-wood lignocellulosic material (e.g. bagasse) to produce ethanol, comprises adding organic acid or organic acid-producing bacteria to lignocellulosic material, and storing and heating the organic acid-impregnated material

NOVELTY - Pretreating non-wood lignocellulosic material containing less than 5 wt.% starch or sugar for producing ethanol from lignocellulose, comprises: (a) adding organic acid or organic acid-producing bacteria to the lignocellulosic material; (b) storing the lignocellulosic material in presence of organic acid for at least 2 weeks in an atmosphere of less than 5% oxygen to obtain organic acid-impregnated material; and (c) heating the organic acid-impregnated material at a temperature of at least 190 degrees C for at least 5 minutes to obtain pretreated lignocellulosic material. USE - The method is useful for pretreating non-wood lignocellulosic material to produce ethanol, where the non-wood lignocellulosic material is bagasse (preferably sugar cane bagasse or sweet Sorghum bagasse), sugar cane trash, wheat straw, rice straw, Sorghum species, Arundo, Miscanthus or agricultural residues (all claimed). ADVANTAGE - The method: avoids the need of inorganic acid or base (sulfur dioxide), and utilizes containers which are less corrosion resistant, hence economical; has higher net energy gain; utilizes organic acid which is biodegradable, and produces degradation products (e.g. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural which acts as inhibitory substances in the subsequent fermentation process), thus environmentally friendly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Pretreating non-wood lignocellulosic material containing less than 5 wt.% starch or sugar for producing ethanol from lignocellulose, comprises: (a) adding organic acid or organic acid-producing bacteria to the lignocellulosic material; (b) storing the lignocellulosic material in the presence of organic acid for at least 2 weeks in an atmosphere of less than 5% oxygen to obtain organic acid-impregnated material; and (c) heating the organic acid-impregnated material at a temperature of at least 190 degrees C for a period of at least 5 minutes to obtain pretreated lignocellulosic material, where no inorganic acid or base including sulfur dioxide is added in the method.