Flow-through pretreatment with strongly acidic electrolyzed water for hemicellulose removal and enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover

► Strongly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) was firstly used in corn stover pretreatment. ► SAEW pretreatment enhanced hemicellulose degradation and enzymatic digestibility. ► The recovery of monomeric and oligomeric xylose was more than 90%.