Ethanol production from horticultural waste treated by a modified organosolv method

► Horticultural waste collected in Singapore was evaluated as a substrate for ethanol production. ► Ethanol organosolv method with no catalyst followed by H2O2 post-treatment was developed for HW pretreatment. ► The method is potentially cost-effective and more environmentally friendly. ► It is conducted at moderate temperature of 70 °C and is therefore potentially less energy-consuming. ► The method uses water as the sole washing reagent with less energy consumption for solvent recovery greatly.