Definition: Decomposition or transformation of a compound caused by heat.

Is it possible to perform pyrolysis at a household level?  Follow this link here for and definitive answer.

Pyrolysis is the process of thermal decomposition to produce gases, liquids (tar), and char (solid residue). These pyrolysis products can all be used as fuels, with or without prior upgrading, or they can be utilized as feedstocks for other chemical.  The char material can be upgraded to activated carbon for industry or used as a slow release fertilizer (soil amendment). Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal or activated coal, is a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions.  Due to its high degree of microporosity, just one gram of activated carbon has a surface area of approximately 500 m².

The types of materials which are candidates for pyrolysis processing include coal, plant biomass, animal and human waste, food scraps, paper, cardboard, plastics, and rubber etc.

The term pyrolysis is most commonly associated with thermal reactions of organic compounds. Pyrolysis of material from plant and animal sources provide some of the first clues about their constitution, as in the formation of isoprene from the thermal breakdown of rubber. A range of substances, including, naphthalene, pyridine, and many other aromatic compounds, is obtained from coal tar which is a pyrolysis product of coal. All of these pyrolysis processes lead to formation of volatile products characteristic of the source and also residues of char with high carbon content.

Using specialy designed stove like the ANILA stove, it is possible to perform pyrolysis at a household level.  During the process energy will be released for cooking or heating, no noxious gases will be released to the environment, and the by product of charcoal will be availble for use as a soil amendment.