614096 Disclosed is a method of producing xylose, the method comprising: contacting a pretreated biomass feedstock with one or more cellulolytic enzymes to saccharify the feedstock, producing a mixture of sugars selected from the group consisting of glucose, xylose, arabinose, mannose, and galactose, fermenting glucose to produce an alcohol or organic acid and isolating the alcohol or organic acid as a first product, and isolating xylose as a second product, wherein the feedstock has been pre-treated by irradiating a lignocellulosic material with electron beam radiation at a dose of between 10 Mrad and 150 Mrad. Also disclosed is a sugar produced by the method.
