Biomass gasification is a prevailing approach for mitigating irreversible fossil fuel depletion. In this study, palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was steam-gasified in a fixed-bed, batch fed gasifier, and the effect of four control factors namely torrefaction temperature for EFB pretreatment, gasification temperature, carrier-gas flow rate, and steam flow rate on syngas production were investigated. The results showed that steam flow rate is the least influential control factor, with no effect on syngas composition or yield. The gasification temperature of biomass significantly affects the composition of syngas generated during steam gasification, and the H-2/CO ratio increases by approximately 50% with an increase in temperature ranging from 680 degrees C to 780 degrees C. The higher H-2/CO ratio at a lower gasification temperature increased the energy density of the combustible constituents of the syngas by 3.43%. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.