Wheat straw is abundant in the Northern plain States of the U.S. such as North Dakota. Conversion of wheat straw to ethanol in a biorefinery could benefit State economies and provide transportation fuel from an inexpensive agricultural residue. Cellulosic fiber as a biorefinery coproduct could be used as a reinforcing agent in polymers. The value of the coproduct is a function of the physical property enhancement. Factors affecting process economics, such as saccharification yields, ethanol fermentation yields and cellulose fiber yields, will be discussed.