*2.3. Pretreatment Conditions*

Alkaline pretreatment was conducted with a substrate concentration of 10% (m/v) of solids, NaOH 2% (m/v), at 121 ◦C for 1 h. After, the pH of the reaction medium was adjusted to 4.5 with HCl, the solids were separated from the liquid phase in a glass filter and washed abundantly with distilled water. The excess water was removed, and a sample was taken to determine the moisture content of the pretreated substrates by gravimetric analysis.

Acid pretreatment was conducted with a substrate concentration of 10% (m/v) of solids, H2SO<sup>4</sup> 1% (m/v), at 121 ◦C for 1 h. Afterward, the pH of the reaction medium was adjusted to 4.5 with NaOH, and the solids were separated from the liquid phase in a glass filter and washed abundantly with distilled water. The excess water was removed, and a sample was taken to determine the moisture content of the pretreated substrates by gravimetric analysis.
