Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass (usually by chemical methods with heat) is an important step in the cellulose ethanol production process, in order to remove the tough lignin coating in the biomass, and to expose the cellulose/hemicellulose fibers for subsequent saccharification and ethanol production. Due to the "harsh" pretreatment conditions (for example highly acidic or highly basic, plus heat), toxic by-products (which adversely affect/inhibit ethanol-fermentating organisms) are produced. These toxic products include furan derivatives (furfural, 5-hydromethylfurfural [HMF]), organic acids (acetic, formic, or ferulic acids), and lignin derivatives (guiacol, phenol, vanillin). Detoxification steps to remove these by-products are usually necessary after pretreatment. Present detoxification procedures involving physico-chemical methods have been observed to have disadavantages which include high water use/wastewater generation, sugar loss, and inefficient removal of inhibitors. Scientists from East China University of Science and Technology report the use of a fungal strain, Amorphotheca resinae ZN1, to detoxify stover biomass after dilute sulfuric acid or stream explosion pretreatments. Their study showed that "biodetoxification by A. resinae ZN1 provided a fast and efficient biodetoxification method for removing toxins generated during intensive lignocellulose pretreatment". They mentioned some advantages of biological detoxification, including: "zero energy input, zero wastewater generation, and complete toxin degradation". The complete study is published in the open-access journal, Biotechnology for Biofuels.