Measurements were taken for a 35-ton-per-hour biomass-fired travelling grate boiler. Local mean concentrations of O(2), CO, SO(2) and NO gas species and gas temperatures were determined in the region above the grate. For a 28-ton-per-hour load, the mass ratios of biomass fly ash and boiler slag were 42% and 58%, the boiler efficiency was 81.56%, and the concentrations of NO(x) and SO(2) at 6% O(2) were 257 and 84 mg/m(3). For an 18-ton-per-hour load, the fuel burning zone was nearer to the inlet than it was for the 28-ton-per-hour load, and the contents of CO and NO in the fuel burning zone above the grate were lower. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.