“…This consequently results in an increase in surface area, a decrease in the degree of polymerisation and crystallinity of cellulose and the depolymerisation of lignin which ultimately improves the substrates' accessibility to enzymatic attack [115,116]. Microwave based pre-treatments have been performed in aqueous environments, often in combination with water [117], organic solvents [118], alkali [119][120][121] and dilute-acid based solutions [122]. Furthermore, such pre-treatments have been shown to work effectively with a range of different lignocellulosic feedstocks, such as rape straw [122], sugarcane bagasse [123,124], wheat straw [125,126], sago [127] and Brewer's Spent Grains (BSG) [128,129].…”