Biomass in general and solid biofuels in particular has gained increased attention as a renewable source of energy that can contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission as well as the security of supply. Hence, it is increasingly used with an array of different technologies. These different conversion technologies are based on the principles of thermo-chemical conversion. Against this background, the goal of this paper is it to draw an overall picture of the differences and the dependencies of these different thermo-chemical conversion options. To achieve this aim, the influence of fuel composition related as well as process related parameters on the course and the products of the various thermo-chemical conversion processes are analysed and assessed in detail.