The aim of this research was to gain a better understanding on whether a novel process based on low-energy thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) process followed by a chemical treatment with deep eutectic solvents (DESs) could produce fibers suitable for papermaking. In full scale production, these fibers could be produced at a much lower capital and operational costs, especially when utilizing existing TMP plants which are under the threat to be shut down or have already been shut down due to a decreasing demand for newsprint and other wood-containing papers.The efficiency of several DES treatments under various temperatures and times were evaluated by carrying out experiments in standard Teflon-lined autoclaves. A few tests were also performed in a unique nonstandard flow extractor. Pulp samples were characterized for their cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents. Moreover, tensile index was measured both before and after pulp refining. Depending on the solvent, the response of mechanical pulp varied, especially in terms of hemicellulose dissolution. Lactic acid, oxalic acid and urea, all in combination with choline chloride ([Ch]Cl) as the hydrogen bond acceptor, dissolved about 50% of the lignin of the low-energy TMP fibers under the tested conditions. The mixture of malic acid and [Ch]Cl was less effective in lignin dissolution. The mixture of urea and [Ch]Cl exhibited only a minor loss in hemicellulose content, when compared to the other tested DESs. Although 50% of the lignin was dissolved with minor loss in hemicellulose no improvement in tensile strength was observed, as it was rather the opposite. Another benefit with the mixture of urea and [Ch]Cl was that this DES did not appear to be corrosive to stainless steel. All other tested DESs—which were also quite acidic—were observed to be corrosive. Moreover, this DES-related corrosion was found to intensify at elevated temperatures.When chips were used as starting material with otherwise the same conditions almost no lignin was dissolved. This suggests that low-energy mechanical pulp is likely to be a good starting material for extracting lignin using DESs.