Ethanol can be produced from any source that contains sugar. Traditional sources, such as sugar cane and corn, lack efficiency or proper climate for growing in certain areas of the United States. Cellulose can be converted into monomer sugars through enzymatic breakdown, but this is often inhibited by lignin. Corn stover and paulownia wood were treated with supercritical CO2 (SFE) to break down the lignin. SFE-treated samples were put through enzymatic breakdown to convert the cellulose into monomer sugars. The final sugar product was detected using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The increase in sugar yield, due to SFE treatment, was observed for each of the samples.