The surface chemical composition and surface energy of native and steam treated triticale straws have been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inverse gas chromatography (IGC) to reveal the effect of steam treatment temperature and time. The XPS results show that the contents of C elements and C-C group on the exterior surface of native triticale straw are much higher than those on the interior surface, indicating that there was a high quantity of wax on the exterior surface of the native triticale straw. Upon steam treatment, both carbon levels and C-C groups reduce with increasing steam temperature and treatment time of the exterior surfaces. However, the effect of steam treatment on the interior surface is very limited. In terms of the surface acid and base properties, the steam treated samples exhibited higher acid and base properties than the native sample, indicating a more polar surface of the steam treated sample. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.