Experimental trials of the water hydrolysis of bagasse to produce xylose, arabinose and glucose were conducted using a temperature-controlled microwave digester. The experimental variables were temperature, ratio of water mass to bagasse mass, type of bagasse material and reaction time. The pH of the Liquid and concentration of dissolved xylose, arabinose and glucose were measured at the completion of each trial. Kinetic modelling of the global rates of formation of monosaccharide products was performed using schemes based on earlier researchers' models of acid hydrolysis using mineral acids. For the most plentiful product, xylose, the most accurate kinetic model of the global reactions was determined to be two parallel pathways for hydrolysis of xylan to xylose followed by a single pathway for xylose decomposition. The calculated activation energies of the reactions were within the range reported by other researchers for the hydrolysis of a range of lignocellulosic materials using mineral acids. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.