A lumped kinetic model of methyl butanoate pyrolysis and oxidation is presented and discussed in this work. The hierarchical approach first required the development and validation of sub-mechanisms of small esters such as methyl formate, methyl acrylate and methyl crotonate. A broad-ranging validation of the whole kinetic scheme of methyl butanoate oxidation was then carried out through comparisons with experimental data obtained in shock tube devices, plug flow and jet stirred reactors, rapid compression machines and premixed laminar flames. A detailed analysis of laminar flame speeds complements and extends this kinetic study. The lumped model predicts a wide range of experiments well, thus constituting a flexible and reliable kinetic scheme despite the reduced number of species involved. Moreover, this lumped approach and the proposed model lay the foundation for an extension to biodiesel fuel modeling. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.