Electrodialysis (ED) was used to develop a multistage oxalic acid recovery and pretreatment system to produce ethanol from deacetylated yellow poplar. Pretreatment of the biomass was performed at 150 degrees C for 42 min using 0.16 M oxalic acid. The efficiency of oxalic acid recovery from the hydrolysate reached up to 92.32% in all the stages. Ethanol production and ethanol yield of ED-treated hydrolysate in each stage showed a uniform pattern ranging from 6.81 g/L to 7.21 g/L and 0.40 g/g to 0.43 g/g, respectively. The results showed that efficiency of ethanol production increased when deacetylated biomass and ED process was used. Ethanol yield from the pretreated biomass using simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was in the range of 80.59-83.36% in all the stages. The structural characterization of the pretreated biomass at each stage was investigated and structural changes were not significantly different among the various pretreated biomass. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.