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Pojam lignoceluloznih materijala odnosi se na biljnu biomasu koja uključuje poljoprivredne ostatke, šumski i drvni otpad, otpad koji nastaje u prehrambenoj industriji te komunalni otpad. Ove sirovine sastoje se od celuloze, hemiceluloze i lignina, a postoji sve veći interes za njihovu biotehnološku primjenu za dobivanje različitih proizvoda (npr. organskih kiselina, enzima, biogoriva, antibiotika, mikrobne biomase i biopesticida). Zbog složene strukture lignoceluloznih sirovina, prije početka biotehnološkog procesa potrebna je odgovarajuća predobrada. Veličina čestica sirovina može utjecati na ekonomičnost biotehnološkog procesa koji se temelji na lignoceluloznim sirovinama jer utječe na prinos, potrošnju energije i troškove cjelokupnog procesa. Potrebne dimenzije čestica ovise o odabranoj metodi predobrade i korištenoj sirovini, a usitnjavanje čestica provodi se mehaničkim postupcima, poput rezanja, sjeckanja i mljevenja, koji su energetski zahtjevni. Stoga je za svaki pojedini proces važno izabrati najefikasniji i najisplativiji proces usitnjavanja. The term lignocellulosic material refers to plant biomass which includes agricultural residues, forest and wood waste, waste generated in the food industry and communal waste. These raw materials consist of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, and there is an increasing interest for their biotechnological application to obtain various products (eg. organic acids, enzymes, biofuels, antibiotics, microbial biomass and biopesticides). Because of the complex structure of lignocellulosic raw materials, proper pretreatment is needed prior to the biotechnological process. The particle size of the raw material can affect the economics of a biotechnological process based on lignocellulosic raw materials because it affects yield, energy consumption and costs of the entire process. The required particle dimensions depend on the pretreatment method and raw material used, and the size reduction is carried out by mechanical procedures such as cutting, hacking and milling, which are energy-intensive. Therefore, it is important to choose the most efficient and most costeffective way of size reduction.