Mechanical refining of lignocellulosic biomass this research, the impact of refining intensity (specific edge conditions to allow for further optimization of the process. In has emerged as a promising technology for the improvement of enzymatic hydrolysis yields. Further research is necessary to understand the effects of mechanical refining at different load; kWh/m) is investigated by the use of multiple refining passes to reach equivalent total specific refining energy (SRE) using a 12-in. disk refiner. In addition, the effect of adjusting gap-width vs adjusting consistency to increase refining energy is explored. Results show that enzymatic carbohydrate conversion is a function of SRE, independent of refining intensity. At lower enzyme loadings, gap-width adjustments were observed to be most effective at improving enzymatic digestibility. At higher enzyme loadings carbohydrate conversions leveled-off slightly as SRE increased, implying that there may be an economically optimum degree of refining.