Cornstalk liquefaction (CSL) in methanol, water or methanol/water mixed solvents was studied at 250-320 degrees C. Each reaction mixture was separated into extract 1 (E-1, including the solute in filtrate and methanol-extractable portion), extract 2 (E-2, methanol-inextractable but isometric carbon disulfide/acetone-extractable portion) and residue (isometric carbon disulfide/acetone-inextractable portion) by filtration and sequential extraction with methanol and isometric carbon disulfide/acetone mixed solvent. The cornstalk, E-1, E-2 and the residues were analyzed using a Fourier transformation infrared spectrometer and each E-1 was analyzed using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer. The microstructures of the cornstalk and its derived residues were observed with a scanning electron microscope. The results show that methanol and water exhibited a synergic effect on the CSL The isometric methanol and water mixed solvent was found to be most effective for CSL at 300 degrees C for 30 min. Under such conditions, the total yield of gases, E-1 and E-2 and the yield of E-1 reached 88.1% and 52.4%, respectively. The yields decreased as the temperature or time was further increased, suggesting that some of the extractable species were repolymerized at higher temperatures or for prolonged time. E-1 consisted of hydrocarbons, alkanols, tetrahydrofuranylmethanols, arenols, methoxyalkanes, methoxyarenes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, chloromethylbenzenes, nitrogen-containing species and several other species. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.