['Acid hydrolysis is a popular pretreatment for removing hemicellulose from lignocelluloses in order to produce a digestible substrate for enzymatic saccharification. In this work, a novel model for the dilute acid hydrolysis of hemicellulose within sugarcane bagasse is presented and calibrated against experimental oligomer profiles. The efficacy of mathematical models as hydrolysis yield predictors and as vehicles for investigating the mechanisms of acid hydrolysis is also examined.', 'Experimental xylose, oligomer (degree of polymerisation 2 to 6) and furfural yield profiles were obtained for bagasse under dilute acid hydrolysis conditions at temperatures ranging from 110°C to 170°C. Population balance kinetics, diffusion and porosity evolution were incorporated into a mathematical model of the acid hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse. This model was able to produce a good fit to experimental xylose yield data with only three unknown kinetic parameters k a ,k b and k d . However, fitting this same model to an expanded data set of oligomeric and furfural yield profiles did not successfully reproduce the experimental results. It was found that a "hard-to-hydrolyse" parameter, α, was required in the model to ensure reproducibility of the experimental oligomer profiles at 110°C, 125°C and 140°C. The parameters obtained through the fitting exercises at lower temperatures were able to be used to predict the oligomer profiles at 155°C and 170°C with promising results.'] Do a novel population balance model for the dilute acid hydrolysis of hemicellulose?