Since Euphorbia rigida is a celluloid plant with low fat content, the oil yields of previous fixed bed pyrolysis studies were low. In order to increase the oil yield, biomass pyrolysis experiments were performed in a fixed bed reactor with two selected commercial catalysts, namely Criterion-534 and activated alumina, and natural zeolite (klinoptilolite). Experiments were conducted in a static atmosphere with a heating rate of 7 degreesCmin(-1), pyrolysis temperature of 550 degreesC and mean particle size of 0.55 mm. In the experiments, all the catalysts were used with various percentages, and the effects of the variable catalysts on the yields and chemical composition of the oils obtained were investigated. Oil yield reached 27.5% with the use of natural zeolite, 31% with Criterion-534 and 28.1% with activated alumina, while it was only 21.6% without a catalyst. The pyrolysis oils were examined by using spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis techniques, and the obtained results were compared with the results of similar experiments achieved without a catalyst. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.