The influence of operational variables in the pulping of vine shoots by use of ethylene glycol [viz. temperature (155-185 degrees C), cooking time (30-90 min) and ethylene glycol concentration (50-70% v/v)] on the properties of the resulting pulp (viz. yield, kappa number and viscosity) and paper sheets (breaking length, stretch, burst index, tear index and brightness) was studied. A central composite factorial design was used in conjunction with the software ANFIS Edit Matlab 6.5 to develop fuzzy neural model that reproduced the experimental results of the dependent variables with errors less than 5%. The model is therefore effective with a view to simulating the ethylene glycol pulping process. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.