Difference between revisions of "Pyrolysis"

Pyrolysis (from greek ''pyr,'' "fire" and ''lysis,'' "loosing/unbind") is a thermochemical process which is able to convert organic compounds in presence of heat and absence of oxygen into valuable products which can be solid, liquid or gaseous. The chemical transformations of substances are generally accompanied by the breaking of chemical bonds which leads to the conversion of more complex molecules into simpler molecules which may also combine with each other to build up larger molecules again. The products of pyrolysis are usually not the actual building blocks of the decomposed substance, but are structurally modified (e.g. by cyclization and aromatisation or rearrangement).

Since all kind of biowaste contains hydrocarbonaceous material it can also be processed via pyrolysis. However, the composition of the feedstock has an impact on the pyrolysis process and therewith on the products which can be obtained. Usually wood and herbaceous feedstocks are processed which are composed differently<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|author=Carpenter, D., Westover, T. L., Czernik, S. and Jablonski, W.|year=2014|title=Biomass feedstocks for renewable fuel production: a review of the impacts of feedstock and pretreatment on the yield and product distribution of fast pyrolysis bio-oils and vapors|journal=Green Chemistry|volume=16|issue=2|page=384-406|doi=10.1039/C3GC41631C}}</ref> which qualifies garden waste as suitable feedstock.