TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The inorganic salts comprise sulfates, nitrates, chlorides, phosphates or carbonates of mono- and/or di- and/or tri-valent metals.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: In the process, a solid removal step is conducted on the aqueous solution to remove at least some of the suspended solids prior to mixing the precipitating agent into the aqueous solution. The process further comprises: a fermentation step in which enzymes capable of converting the sugars and/or sugar oligomers in the aqueous solution to a non-sugar product are added to the aqueous solution after the precipitated solid has been removed; and a recovery step, where an ion from the precipitating agent is removed from the precipitated solid that has been separated from the aqueous solution. The temperature of an aqueous solution derived from lignocellulosic biomass is 20-220 degrees C. The temperature of the aqueous solution is 20 degrees C to the boiling temperature of the aqueous solution at atmospheric pressure. Preferred Components: The ion removed from the precipitated solid is an ion of barium or calcium. The sugars comprise monosaccharides containing an aldehyde and/or keto group in the molecule. The sugar oligomers comprise water soluble oligomers of glucose and/or xylose and their functionalized derivatives. The aqueous solution contains 2-20 wt.% of water soluble sugars and/or their oligomers. The aqueous solution further comprises: 1.5-7 wt.% of hemicelluloses, fats and oils; 0.01-10 wt.% of 2-furfuraldehyde and 5-hydroxymethylfurfuraldehyde; 0.01-5 wt.% of aliphatic carboxylic, dicarboxylic acids, aliphatic hydroxy and/or keto-carboxylic acids with 1-6C in the molecule; and 0.01-1.5 wt.% of inorganic salts. The precipitating agent comprises at least one barium or calcium compound in the form of a solid and/or aqueous solution, where the barium or calcium compound comprises oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, carboxylates with 1-3C in the molecule or their mutual mixtures.