Fermentative bioethanol production from pyrolytic sugars was improved via aromatics removal by liquid-liquid extraction. As solvents, the ionic liquid (IL) trihexyltetradecylphosphonium dicyanamide ((P666,14)[N(CN)(2)]) and ethyl acetate (EA) were compared. Two pyrolytic sugar solutions were created from acid-leached and untreated pinewood, with levoglucosan contents (most abundant sugar) of 29.0% and 8.3% (w/w), respectively. In a single stage extraction, 70% of the aromatics were effectively removed by P-666,P-14[N(CN)(2)] and 50% by EA, while no levoglucosan was extracted. The IL was regenerated by vacuum evaporation (100 mbar) at 220 degrees C, followed by extraction of aromatics from fresh pyrolytic sugar solutions. Regenerated IL extracted aromatics with similar extraction efficiency as the fresh IL, and the purified sugar fraction from pretreated pinewood was hydrolyzed to glucose and fermented to ethanol, yielding 0.46 g ethanol/(g glucose), close to the theoretical maximum yield. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.