Kinetics of guaiacol hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) was studied using supported MoxC-SBA-15 and as a comparison 5wt% Pt/C under 30bar hydrogen at 200 degrees C and 300 degrees C. Catalyst characterization was done by a range of physical methods including also determination of the amount of coke and the nature of adsorbed species. Pt/C gave 2-methoxycyclohexanol as the main product, whereas Mo2C-SBA-15 promoted direct deoxygenation exhibiting also strong adsorption of guaiacol on the catalyst surface and formation of oligomers. Thermodynamics of guaiacol HDO was elucidated and the reaction network was proposed based on which kinetic modelling was done. [GRAPHICS] .