Pyrolysis and steam gasification of methane fermentation residue (MFR) produced from food waste (FW) were performed at two different heating rates. Moreover, unfermented FW and active sludge (AS) were tested. The results of slow heating experiments showed that although MFR contains biologically refractory organic matter, its overall thermal decomposition and gas evolution behaviors were similar to those of AS and, especially, FW. Furthermore, rapid heating experiments demonstrated that total gas yield and gas composition were similar for all three samples at 700 degrees C. However, the effect of an increase in gasification temperature was more significant for MFR.