Industrial Chemistry and Water Treatment

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical treatment, which can be applied to any organic (carbon-based) product. In this treatment, material is exposed to high temperature, and in the absence of oxygen goes through chemical and physical separation into different molecules. Pyrolysis is also known as thermal cracking, cracking, thermolysis, de polymerization, etc. Simplest example of pyrolysis is food cooking. When you cook food the temperature of food increases leading to higher molecular vibrations and breakdown of larger complex molecules into smaller and simple molecules. After cooking larger food molecules are pyrolyzed into smaller in simpler molecules which are easy to digest. Pyrolysis can be performed at relatively small scale and at remote locations which enhance energy density of the biomass resource and reduce transport and handling costs. Pyrolysis has been examined as an attractive alternative to incineration for municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal that allows energy and resource recovery; however, it has seldom been applied independently with the output of pyrolysis products as end products.