The rate of pyrolysis of bagasse was studied at high heating rates (200-10 000 degrees C/s) to obtain engineering data for incorporation into computational fluid dynamic models of bagasse ignition and combustion in suspension-fired and swirl burners. Experiments were performed using an electrically-heated grid under a nitrogen atmosphere at atmosphere pressure. Yields of char, tar, individual gas components, and water were measured as a function of peak temperature, for ranges of heating rate, residence time at peak temperature, and particle size. At higher peak temperatures, significant tar cracking occurred so that tar yields passed through a maximum as peak temperature increased. For dry bagasse, this tar cracking produced gases with no change in char yield, suggesting that it occurred external to the particle. Moisture in the atmosphere increased the tar cracking in the vapor phase outside the bagasse particle producing more gases but did not affect the char yield. However, moisture in the bagasse reduced the char yield and further enhanced the tar cracking reactions, producing even more gases (predominantly carbon monoxide). These results suggested an interaction between water vapor and the tar cracking reactions. For the short residence times appropriate to such burners, a single, first-order reaction model gave the best fit to the total weight loss for the ranges of heating rate and particle sizes studied. However, the first-order kinetic parameters fitted to primary tar production (i.e. before tar cracking commenced) were recommended for modeling purposes because the total weight loss included significant yields of noncombustible water and carbon dioxide. Different ultimate primary tar yields were recommended to fit the dry and wet bagasse pyrolysis results. No chemical significance should be attributed to the kinetic parameters, which were determined to provide the simplest and best fit to the pyrolysis data.