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''pyrolysis'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260127004310-00-⌔

pyrolysis - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Noun

pyrolysis (countable and uncountable, plural pyrolyses)

  • (physical chemistry) The decomposition of a material or compound by heat, in the absence of oxygen or other reagents.
    • ✤ Hypernyms: lysis, decomposition, breakdown
    • ✤ Hyponyms: hydrous pyrolysis < hydropyrolysis
    • ✤ Coordinate terms: electrolysis (by electricity), hydrolysis (by water), photolysis (by light); catalysis (with a catalyst’s help)
    • ✤ Techniques that have successfully identified ionic intermediates in solution have been applied to gas-phase pyrolyses.1
    • ✤ Twenty years ago our real understanding of the mechanism of alkane pyrolyses was little better than rudimentary.2
    • ✤ * Pyrolysis involves the thermal degradation of the rubber of the tyre to give an oil and gas leaving a residual solid carbon and the steel casing of the tyre.*3
    • ✤ Traditional pyrolysis of wood relies on low temperatures and long processing time to increase the charcoal yield. In contrast, modern or fast pyrolysis uses moderate temperatures (400-500°C) and very short residence times (typically only a few seconds) to maximize the production of liquids (Diebold and Bridgewater, 1997).4

Etymology

From pyro- + -lysis.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /paɪˈɹɒlɪsɪs/, /pɪˈɹɒlɪsɪs/
  • (General American) IPA: /paɪˈɹɑləsɪs/
  • (Australian) IPA: /pɑɪˈɹɔlɪsɪs/
  • Rhymes: -ɒlɪsɪs

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. 1972, A. C. Knipe, “Chapter 4: Elimination Reactions”, in B. Capon, C. W. Rees, editors, Organic Reaction Mechanisms 1971, page 143: ↩

  2. 1980, J. H. Purnell, “Homogeneous Alkane Cracking”, in William Pryor, editor, Frontiers of Free Radical Chemistry: The route to quantitative description to very high conversion, page 94: ↩

  3. 2001, P. T. Williams, R. P. Bottrill, A. J. Brindle, A. M. Cunliffe, “The potential of pyrolysis for recycling used tyres”, in Ravindra K. Dhir, Mukesh C. Limbachiya, Kevin A. Paine, editors, Recycling and Reuse of Used Tyres: Proceedings of the International Symposium, page 187: ↩

  4. 2006, John C. F. Walker, Primary Wood Processing: Principles and Practice, 2nd edition, Springer, page 541: ↩

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Secondary

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