This study investigated potential synergistic activities between tar sand and walnut shell during co-pyrolysis. A series of pyrolysis studies were conducted under specific operating conditions in a fixed-bed reactor. The highest yield of bio-oil from the co-pyrolysis was 31.84 wt.%, which represented an increase of 7.88 wt.% compared to the bio-oil yield from the pyrolysis of walnut shell alone. The bio-oils were characterized using various spectroscopic and chromatographic analysis techniques. The results indicated that the synergetic effect increased the co-pyrolysis bio-oil yield and its quality. Consequently, the results indicate that the bio-oils obtained will be suitable for the production of fuels and chemicals as feedstock after required improvements. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.