A cycle spray flow-through reactor was designed and used to pretreat corn stover in dilute sulfuric acid medium. The dilute Sulfuric acid cycle spray flow-through (DCF) process enhanced xylose sugar yields and cellulose digestibility while increasing the removal of lignin. Within the DCF system, the xylose sugar yields of 90-93% could be achieved for corn stover pretreated with 2% (w/v) dilute sulfuric acid at 95 degrees C during the optimal reaction time (90 min). The remaining solid residue exhibited enzymatic digestibility of 90-95% with cellulase loading of 60 FPU/g glucan that was due to the effective lignin removal (70-75%) in this process. Compared with flow-through and compress-hot water pretreatment process, the DCF method produces a higher sugar concentration and higher xylose monomer yield. The novel DCF process provides a feasible approach for lignocellulosic material pretreatment. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.