Cellulose-containing compositions and methods of making same

A method comprising:

• providing a reactant comprising a material selected from the group consisting of lignocellulosic biomass, cellulosic biomass, processed cellulosic biomass, starch-containing feedstock, municipal waste, and combinations thereof;
• contacting the reactant with a fluid comprising water, wherein the water is sub-critical, near-critical, or supercritical water, to form a first reactant mixture, wherein the first reactant mixture is at a fifth temperature and at a fifth pressure, and maintaining the first reactant mixture at the fifth temperature, and the fifth pressure for a fifth period of time quenching the first reactant mixture to form a first product mixture comprising:
• i) a first liquid fraction;
• and
• ii) a first solid fraction;
• wherein the first solid fraction comprises a composition comprising a cellulose product;
• and processing the first product mixture;
• wherein the processing is at least one of:
• a) recovering at least a portion of the cellulose product from the first product mixture to form a recovered cellulose product, wherein a yield of the recovered cellulose product is from about 5% to about 100%, based on the amount of cellulose in the reactant;
• and
• b) hydrolyzing at least a portion of the first product mixture.