TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOLOGY - Preferred Components: The biomass is selected from switchgrass, waste paper, sludge from paper manufacture, corn fiber, corn cobs, corn husks, corn stover, grasses, wheat, wheat straw, hay, barley, barley straw, rice straw, sugar cane bagasse, sugar cane straw, yellow poplar, sorghum, soy, components obtained from processing of grains, trees, branches, roots, leaves, wood chips, sawdust, shrubs and bushes, vegetables, fruits, flowers and/or animal manure. In the method (m1), the lignin-free biomass is 60-100% original weight of the biomass.R=a monovalent, divalent or trivalent 1-6C alkane, alkene or alkyne, linear, cyclic or branched (preferably methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl).    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The dissolved lignin is removed by filtration. The method (p1) further involves washing the obtained biomass with a solvent solution (preferably with water to produce a readily saccharifiable carbohydrate-enriched biomass); drying the obtained biomass to produce a readily saccharifiable carbohydrate-enriched biomass; repeating the washing steps at least one time; evaporating off the solvent under vacuum of the filtered and washed biomass after the washing step; saccharifying the biomass with an enzyme consortium where fermentable sugars are produced; saccharifying the biomass without drying by contacting the biomass with an enzyme consortium after washing in the preferred washing step, where fermentable sugars are produced; and fermenting the sugars to produce a target product (preferably alcohol, organic acid, amino acid and gas). The heated suspension is cooled to room temperature before filtering. In the method (m1), the temperature of the heating step is 165-195 degrees C. Preferred Components: The solvent solution further comprises an additional nucleophile selected from NH3, alkylamines, NaOH and/or sulfide reagents. The additional nucleophile is at least one alkylamine and is present at a concentration of up to 20 wt.% of dry biomass. The solvent solution to biomass in the suspending step has a weight ratio of 10-1 to 0.5-1. The organic solvent solution further comprises at least one additional component selected from alkali or alkaline earth hydroxides or carbonates, ammonia, thiols and/or polysulfides. The solvent solution, and any unreacted organo-mercaptan or other unreacted components are recyclable. The organic solvent solution comprises a solvent selected from alcohols, diols, and aprotic solvents (preferably methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol and hexanol, or their isomers, and diols). The alkylamines is selected from R-NH2, R2-NH, R3N, (H2N-R-NH2), (H2N-R(NH2)2), (HO-R-NH2), ((HO)2-R-NH2), (HO-R-(NH2)2), (HS-R-NH2), ((HS)2-R-NH2), (HS-R-(NH2)2) and/or (H2N-R(OH)(SH) (preferably methylamine). The organo-mercaptan is selected from thioglycolate, 2-mercaptoethanol, dithiothreitol, dithioerythritol, cysteine and glutathione, methanethiol, mono- and di-substituted ethane, propane and butane thiols. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.