Scientists Say: Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis (noun, “py-RAW-leh-sis”)

Pyrolysis is a process though which heat breaks down large molecules into smaller ones. It is just one of the chemical reactions that occurs when something is burning.

Picture a campfire. The flame may look like a single chemical reaction. But in reality, it comes from multiple reactions that occur step by step.

The first step is pyrolysis. In this step, heat breaks open the fuel’s chemical bonds. In the case of a campfire, that fuel is wood. But pyrolysis doesn’t create the campfire’s flame. The next step — combustion — does that. Combustion occurs when the broken-open fuel m...