Combustion characteristics of two woody crops (BP (black spruce and Pinus banksiana mixtures) and W (willow)) and three herbaceous non-perennial energy crops (CR (common reed), RP (reed phalaris) and S (switchgrass)) were studied by means of TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) coupled with MS (mass spectrometry). The combustion process of these biomasses is divided into two stages: devolatilization and char oxidation. TGA data showed that sample BP had the best ignition characteristics (burnout temperature of 507 degrees C). However, DSC analysis demonstrated that samples W and RP released a higher amount of combustion heat (>8 kJ/g). Kinetics was evaluated assuming single separate reactions for each combustion stage using PMSM (pseudo multi-component separate-stage models). The process was successfully modeled obtaining the maximum error of +/- 3.35% for the sample S. CO, CO2 and H2O were the main components obtained during the combustion process. Nitrogen compounds (NO, NO2 and HCN) were found in higher proportions that sulfur compounds (SO and SO2). Nitrogen compounds were released in both combustion stages, whereas sulfur compounds evolved mainly in the low temperature range. Other pollutants were found in lower concentrations (CH3Cl and C6H6). (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.