An Integrated Catalytic Approach to Fermentable Sugars from Cellulose

The production of fermentable sugars from cellulose in almost quantitative yield is accelerated. Starting from cello-oligomers obtained by acid hydrolysis of cellulose in an ionic liquid, the catalytic approach described herein, integrating acid and enzymatic catalysis, quantitatively converts cellulose to fermentable sugars (glucose and cellobiose) within only a few hours.