Sugar yields from dilute oxalic acid pretreatment of maple wood compared to those with other dilute acids and hot water

► Dilute oxalic acid pretreatment was developed for better downstream compatibility. ► Comparable xylose yields (∼84%) to other leading pretreatment technologies was obtained. ► Monomer, oligomer, and degradation products were determined and compared for all pretreatments. ► Dilute oxalic acid led to less formation of degradation products than other acids during pretreatment. ► Total sugar yields for pretreatment & enzymatic hydrolysis were ∼85% for all pretreatments tested.