Measurements of temperature in the proximity of wood pellets (8 mm diameter) and thin wooden stick slices (5 cm diameter and 5 mm thickness) were conducted to estimate the effects of mixing between the evolving volatiles and hot steam (T>700 degrees C) flowing around the particles. Measurements of mass loss of the slices were conducted to estimate the apparent kinetic parameters of their pyrolysis. A simple kinetic model of the process (type II by Pyle and Zaror (1984) [20]) was investigated. The experiments showed a plateau-like part in the graphs of temperature measured in the proximity to the samples. The existence of this plateau-like part agrees with the general data of calorimetric measurements of pyrolysis, which show extensive energy consumption in the beginning of an active production of volatiles. A hypothesis regarding feedback on the process due to the micro-expansion and mixing of volatiles in the convective boundary layer is discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.