Malaysia is overdependence on fossil fuels as the primary source of energy. The issues related to environmental effects and energy security has driven the nation towards renewable energy, specifically biomass. The lignocellulosic biomass such as empty fruit bunches is potentially seen to replace fossil fuels because of its availability in Malaysia. In this study, torrefaction of empty fruit bunches was conducted in a tubular vertical reactor in inert atmosphere. The effect various torrefaction temperature (220, 260 and 300 °C) and time (30, 60 and 90 min) on the mass yield, calorific value and CHN analysis of empty fruit bunches was investigated. The activation energy for torrefaction of empty fruit bunches was 30.81 kJ/mol. © 2016 The Authors.