The mildly hydrothermal method using solid acid catalysts for the glucose production from cellulose can be one of the key technologies for a future sustainable society using cellulose biomass. This article is the first to indicate solid acid catalysis for the hydrolysis of cellulose with b-1,4-glycosidic bonds into glucose selectively higher than 90 C-%. Among the solid acid catalysts we tested, such as the H-form zeolite catalysts and the sulfated and sulfonated catalysts, a sulfonated activated-carbon catalyst showed a remarkably high yield of glucose, which was due to the high hydrothermal stability and the excellent catalytic property attributed to the strong acid sites of SO 3 H functional groups and the hydrophobic planes.

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A sulfonated activated-carbon (AC-SO 3 H) catalyst selectively hydrolyzes cellulose with b-1,4-glycosidic bonds into glucose in the catalytic hydrothermal reactions at temperatures around 423 K. The AC-SO 3 H catalyst with the hydrothermal pre-treatment has the excellent catalytic properties attributed to the high hydrothermal stability and the strong acid sites of sulfo functional groups.