However, industrial production starts from xylan (a hemicellulose) extracted from hardwoods or corncobs, which is hydrolyzed into xylose and catalytically hydrogenated into xylitol.
Traditionally, farmers would soak butchered cuts in brine and then hang them in their smokehouse above a smoldering fire of corncobs and hickory wood, giving the meat its distinctive flavor.
Agricultural waste products such as wheat straw; corncobs, stalks or leaves; or bioenergy crops such as switchgrass or miscanthus could be used to create cellulosic biofuels.