Autothermal gasification of lignin-rich residues was carried out to evaluate the performances of a pilot plant with a feeding rate of 20-30 kg h(-1) of feedstock. The facility was based on an updraft gasifier and a gas cleaning train composed of a biodiesel scrubber and coalescence filters. The tests were performed with solid residues of ethanol production starting from straws or canes. Air at a low equivalence ratio was used as gasification medium. The autothermal processing and the lignin-rich feedstock made it possible to highlight a sequence of exothermic and endothermic reactions by measuring the heating rates along the reactive bed. The CO2 production was proportional to the ash content. The average production of raw syngas was 1.94 kg per kg of dry residue, of which H-2 and CO were 27.2 and 696 g, respectively. The efficiency of energy conversion from solid to cold gas was 64% and reached about 81% including the contribution of the condensable organic fraction.