The cellulose is hydrolyzed to glucose Free energy is lost as heat.
In enzymatic hydrolysis, cellulose chains are broken down into glucose molecules by cellulose enzymes in a process similar to the conversion of grass and feed cellulose to sugars in the stomach of a cow. Xylanase and hemicellulose enzymes can convert many cellulosic agricultural residues into fermentable sugars.
When carbohydrates are broken down into their constituent sugar molecules by hydrolysis this is called glycation. Hydrolysis reactions can be the reverse of condensation reactions, where two molecules combine to form a larger molecule and expel a water molecule. Acid hydrolysis of cellulose is the classical method of breaking down cellulose to glucose and can be performed with either dilute or concentrated acid.
