A variety of degradation products are produced upon pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with dilute acid. To date, the complexity of these samples has significantly limited the scope of efforts to perform summative analyses of degradation products. Qualitative and quantitative interrogation of hydrolysates is also paramount to identifying potential correlations between pretreatment chemistry and microbial inhibition in downstream bioconversion processes.

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was applied to qualitatively and quanitatively identify dozens of organic degradation products (e.g., organic acids, phenols, aldehydes, etc.) in corn stover pretreatment hydrolysates. Hydrolysates were treated under a variety conditions, including variation in pretreatment time, temperature, and pH. Correlations of product concentrations to the pretreatment severity function indicate differing responses of various compounds to the kinetic influences of temperature and reaction time.