Compositional and structural changes in Phoenix canariensis and Opuntia ficus-indica with pretreatment: Effects on enzymatic hydrolysis and second generation ethanol production.

Two different plants namely Phoenix canariensis and Opuntia ficus-indica were used as substrate for reducing sugar generation and ethanol production. Dilute acid, alkaline and steam explosion were used as pretreatment methods in order to depolymerize lignin and/or hemicellulose and recover cellulose. By using alkaline pretreatment with 2.