The use of green solvents for the partial delignification of milled sugarcane bagasse (1 mm particle size) and for the enhancement of its susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis was demonstrated. The experiments were carried out for 2 h using 40 g of supercritical carbon dioxide combined with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and 15.8 g of ethanol. The effects of temperature (110-180 degrees C), pressure (195-250 bar) and IL-to-bagasse mass ratio (0:1-1:1) were investigated through a factorial design in which the response variables were the extent of delignification and both anhydroglucose and anhydroxylose contents in the pretreated materials. The highest delignification degree (41%) led to the best substrate for hydrolysis, giving a 70.7 wt% glucose yield after 12 h using 5 wt% and Cellic CTec2 (R) (Novozymes) at 10 mg g(-1) total solids. Hence, excellent substrates for hydrolysis were produced with a minimal IL requirement, which could be recovered by ethanol washing for its downstream processing and reuse. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.