Ethanol from Nordic wood raw material by simplified alkaline soda cooking pre-treatment

► Ethanol prod via alkaline pretreatment enables a coproduction of valuable lignin. ► Lignin content of 2.5% on pulp was found optimum for aspen and 5% on pulp for pine. ► Aspen required lower alkali charge and lower temperature compared to pine. ► Yield gain of fermentable sugars is 1-2% charging AQ(0.1% on wood) in pretreatment. ► Ethanol yield between 81.6% and 87.8% on theoretical max was obtained.