The ability of FeO Fenton-like reaction to produce glucose from lignocellulosic biomass was investigated. FeO magnetite nanoparticles were chemically synthesized from iron salts (a mixture of 1 M FeCl and 2M FeCl) using an ammonia solution (30% NHOH). The synthesized FeO nanoparticles were further characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Reed stems and rice straw biomasses pretreated with optimized Fenton-like reagents (FeO and HO) increased glucose production by 177 and 87%, respectively, compared to the control without the catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]