In this study, combustion from the co-firing of coal and wood biomass, and thermal characteristics such as ignition temperature, burn-out temperature, and activation energy were discussed using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). We investigated the effects of biomass blending with two kinds of pulverized coal (bituminous Shenhua, and sub-bituminous Adaro) under air and oxy-fuel conditions. The coal fraction in the blended samples was set to 1, 0.8, and 0.5. The oxygen fraction in the oxidant was set to 0.21, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.8. The ignition temperature was governed by the fuel composition, particularly in the blended biomass which has a much higher content of volatile matter comparing to coal. However, the burnout temperature, which shows a strong relationship with char combustion, depended on the oxidant ingredients rather than on the fuel components. Thermal characteristics such as ignition, burnout temperature, reaction region, and heat flow were very similar between air and a 0.3 oxygen concentration under oxy-fuel conditions with Shenhua coal. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.