Ethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass through a number of conversion pathways presents a more viable alternative to fossil fuels because non-food feedstocks are used. The approaches for ethanol production from biomass, such as wood, can be classified into three general pathways: hydrolysis fermentation (hydrolysis followed by fermentation of the sugars), gasification biosynthesis (gasification followed by biosynthesis to ethanol), and gasification chemical synthesis (gasification followed by catalytic synthesis to ethanol). To compare performance of the three pathways, a black-box system model was utilized with relevant assumptions to analyze their mass and energy conversion efficiencies. Their processing times were also estimated. A comprehensive comparison of the modeling results showed that from a process engineering standpoint, the feasibility of the biomass refining pathways ordered from high to low is gasification chemical synthesis, hydrolysis fermentation, then gasification biosynthesis. Calculations of a performance index, a singular number incorporating the major input and output and processing time of a pathway that was defined, also supported this order. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.