The objectives of this study were to investigate how relatively mild operating conditions (i.e., relatively low temperatures and pressures) influence product quality by comparing devolatilized products obtained at various temperatures and heating rates. Fixed-, fluid-, and entrained-flow reactor units were used to obtain pyrolysis products. In addition, available literature data on tar yield in various reactor units at a range of temperatures and residence times were surveyed and compared with the data generated in the present study. Liquids were characterized by a number of techniques (e.g., field ionization mass spectroscopy or FIMS, sequential elution solvent chromatography or SESC, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy or FTIR, elemental analysis). 34 refs., 21 figs., 2 tabs.