Three selected alkali-based organosolv pulps (alkali-sulfite-anthraquinone-methanol (ASAM), alkali-anthraquinone-methanol (organocell) and ethanol-soda) from agrofibre crop giant reed (Arundo donax L.) were bleached by an ozone-based TCF (totally chlorine-free) bleaching sequence AZE(R)QP (where A is an acidic pulp pre-treatment, Z is an ozone stage, (ER) is an alkaline extraction in the presence of reducing agent, Q is a pulp chelating, P is a hydrogen peroxide stage) without oxygen pre-bleaching, and compared with a conventional kraft pulp used as a reference. The different response on bleaching conditions within each bleaching stage was noted for all tested pulps. The pulp bleachability, in terms of brightness improvement or lignin removal per unit of applied chemicals, was found higher for the organocell pulp. The ASAM and ethanol-soda pulps showed the highest bleaching selectivity, expressed by viscosity loss per unit of lignin removed or brightness improved. The overall bleaching results of organosolv pulps were superior to kraft. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.