Pyrolysis of sawdust and its three components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) were performed in a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA92) under syngas and hydrogen. The effect of different heating rates (5, 10, 15 and 20 degrees C/min) on the pyrolysis of these samples were examined. The pyrolysis tests of the synthesized samples (a mixture of the three components with different ratios) were also done under syngas. The distributed activation energy model (DAEM) was used to study the pyrolysis kinetics. It is found that syngas could replace hydrogen in hydropyrolysis process of biomass. Among the three components, hemicellulose would be the easiest one to be pyrolyzed and then would be cellulose, while lignin would be the most difficult one. Heating rate could not only affect the temperature at which the highest weight loss rate reached, but also affect the maximum value of weight loss rate. Both lignin and hemicellulose used in the experiments could affect the pyrolysis characteristic of cellulose while they could not affect each other obviously in the pyrolysis process. Values of k(0) (frequency factor) change very greatly with different E (activation energy) values. The E values of sawdust range from 161.9 to 202.3 kJ/mol, which is within the range of activation energy values for cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.