TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOLOGY - Preferred Components: The lignocellulosic material consists of softwood species, hardwood species or mixed forest residues.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The concentration of sulfur dioxide used is 9-50%.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The alcohol is aliphatic alcohols; methanol, ethanol, propanol or butanol.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Process: The pretreatment occurs in the presence of alcohol, sulfur dioxide and water in vapor phase or liquid phase. The pretreatment is conducted at 65-160 degrees C. The process involves diluting and cooling the pretreated lignocellulosic material prior to release through a cold blow valve; washing the material counter currently to clean cellulose; hydrolyzing the cleaned cellulose using enzymes; dewatering the enzyme charged cellulose to reduce enzymatic hydrolysis volume; fermenting the hydrolyzed cellulose to alcohol; distilling the cellulose derived alcohol in low temperature, preserving the enzymes for reuse; recycling the bottoms from the distillation column to enzymatic hydrolysis or to cellulose washing; sending the residues from the enzymatic hydrolysis to hemicellulosic hydrolysis; compressing the sulfur dioxide to liquid form; removing the resinous substances by skimming; hydrolyzing the hemicellulosic oligomers by heating to above 100 degrees C; removing the lignin by filtration; converting the lignin to lignosulfonate by using alkaline bisulfite of ammonium, calcium, sodium or magnesium; fermenting the hemicellulosic sugars to alcohols; burning the organic residues from the biorefinery to produce energy for the process; and recovering the inorganic sulfur dioxide from the flue gas scrubber of the combustor. The neutralization is performed with alkaline hydroxide or oxide of ammonium, calcium, sodium or magnesium. The inorganic residues are burned along with the spent liquor in a fluidized bed boiler. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.