A novel method for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic material is investigated in this work, using floodplain meadow hay as a feedstock for bioethanol production. Pressurized nitrogen (N-2) pretreatment is combined with explosive decompression to achieve high glucose yields with simple technology and low energy input. Results show that N-2 explosion yields hydrolysis efficiencies up to 71.8%. The highest hydrolysis efficiency was achieved at a temperature of 210 degrees C with a cellulose to glucose conversion rate of 195.1 g kg(-1) of biomass.