A simple and cost-effective biochemical conversion process consisting of hydrothermal treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of pretreated whole slurry (PWS) was developed for producing L-lactic acid (L-LA) from oil palm trunk (OPT). When OPT was hydrothermally treated at optimal condition capable of achieving maximum yield of hemicellulosic sugars after enzymatic hydrolysis, the enzymatic digestibility of the PWS afforded a yield of 81.4% of the theoretical glucose yield (TGY). However, glucose yield from washed pretreated solid (WPS) was only 43.5% of TGY. The use of two hydrolysates from PWS and WPS for fermentation by Lactobacillus paracasei engineered to selectively produce L-LA afforded yields of 89.5% and 45.8% of the theoretical LA yield (TLY), respectively. This study confirmed the inevitable extensive sugar loss during washing of pretreated slurry due to loss of soluble starch. Alternatively, the proposed design process is considered suitable for converting OPT to L-LA without such starch loss. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.