Gasification & Pyrolysis - Process

Pyrolysis and gasification technologies form part of a group of processes and techniques
collectively known as advanced thermal conversion technologies.
Pyrolysis and gasification, like normal combustion, involve a thermal/chemical reaction which takes place at high temperatures. This generally generates energy from organic or hydrocarbon containing materials but can also be used to provide chemical feed-stocks for other processes..
Pyrolysis takes place either in the complete absence of oxygen or with limited oxygen.
Although the application and equipment might be new the process is not. The production of charcoal from wood is an example of pyrolysis/gasification, where the wood is revented from combusting in the usual way due to air starvation.
Gasification, like pyrolysis, is a process that has had previous applications using feedstocks other than waste. For example, so called “town gas” produced from coal using gasification was a very common process prior to the widespread availability of natural gas.