One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of processing lignocellulosic material, comprising initial steam pretreatment to give pretreated lignocellulosic material with an average particle size, followed by refining to give refined lignocellulosic material with an average particle size, wherein the average particle of the pretreated lignocellulosic material is greater than the average particle size of the refined lignocellulosic material. In certain embodiments, the lignocellulosic material is selected from the group consisting of grass, switch grass, cord grass, rye grass, reed canary grass, miscanthus, sugar-processing residues, sugar cane bagasse, agricultural wastes, rice straw, rice hulls, barley straw, corn cobs, cereal straw, wheat straw, canola straw, oat straw, oat hulls, corn fiber, stover, soybean stover, corn stover, forestry wastes, recycled wood pulp fiber, sawdust, hardwood, and softwood.
