pyrolysisn.

1890 J. S. Billings National Med. Dict. II. 420/1 Pyrolysis, dry distillation, decomposing by heat.

1920 Jrnl. Industr. & Engin. Chem. 13 339/2 Apparently at the higher temperature Formula I represents the most stable configuration, so that on further pyrolysis levoglucosan is obtained.

1928 W. A. Gruse Petroleum & its Products ix. 164 The growth of the petroleum industry, and of the gas-making processes using petroleum, prompted a number of interesting theoretical researches on low-temperature, and particularly on high-temperature, pyrolysis. [Note] The use of this word was suggested in 1918 by W. A. Hamor.

1954 Chem. & Industry 13 Nov. 1418/1 It is possible that the presence of the polycyclic hydrocarbons..is due to the pyrolysis of acetylene which is known to occur in cigarette smoke.

1988 R. W. G. Carter Coastal Environments (1989) 399 The Bermudan Government is embarking on a variety of solutions,..including secondary sewage treatment, pyrolisis (controlled incineration), composting, [etc.].

1995 Coffee Jrnl. Autumn 27/2 These two signs—the coffee-scented smoke and the snapping sounds..—signal the onset of the climactic episodes of the roast, the complex series of events called pyrolysis.