 The use of woody biomass for bioethanol production has become increasingly popular due to its abundance and low cost. However, the presence of lignin in these materials makes them difficult to break down, requiring a pretreatment step before enzymatic hydrolysis. Thermomechanical pretreatments have been shown to be effective at breaking down lignin, but the type and severity of the treatment must be carefully considered to ensure efficient conversion of the material into ethanol. This article was authored by Maria L. H., Nicholas Luca, Sidokmed Rezog, and others.