The hydrothermal treatment of two different wood biomass samples such as cherry (hard wood) and cypress (soft wood), whose composition is different i.e. lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose were performed at 280 degrees C for 15 min with aq. K2CO3 with different concentrations (0-1 M). The soft wood biomass contains higher lignin content than hard wood biomass. The cellulose rich cherry wood biomass produced higher proportion of acetic acid than cypress. The lignin rich cypress produced the hydrocarbons with major portion of phenolic hydrocarbons and derivatives than cherry. The total oil yields from both cherry and cypress wood biomass produced 50 wt% of liquid hydrocarbons at 280 degrees C for 15 min with 0.5 M K2CO3 solution. The volatility distribution of liquid hydrocarbons showed the characteristic features of soft and hard wood biomasses. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.