Catalpa sawdust was pretreated by microwave to enhance biofuel yield.
Hemicellulose and lignin were solubilized after microwave-alkali pretreatment.
Reducing sugar yield increased by 682.15% after microwave-Ca(OH)2 pretreatment.
Catalpa sawdust with microwave-Ca(OH)2 pretreatment is promising for enzymolysis.