destructive distillation

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. the decomposition of a substance, as wood or coal, by heating with a minimal exposure to air, and the collection of the volatile products formed.

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destructive distillation British  

noun

1. the decomposition of a complex substance, such as wood or coal, by heating it in the absence of air and collecting the volatile products

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destructive distillation Scientific  

/ dĭ-strŭk′tĭv /

1. A process by which organic substances such as wood, coal, and oil shale are broken down by heat in the absence of air. This causes them to break down into solids, liquids, and gases, which are then used to make products such as coke, charcoal, oils, and ammonia.

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Etymology

Origin of destructive distillation

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

destructive distillation

He discovered Prussian blue, and by the destructive distillation of bones prepared the evil-smelling product known as Dippel’s animal oil.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

In the mean time, artificial oil had begun to be produced in large quantities from different minerals, principally, however, from cannel coal, by the process of destructive distillation.

From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 2, February, 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various

This is a very old observation, and was made so long ago that it becomes interesting as a point in the history of applied science to know who first submitted coal to destructive distillation.

From Coal and What We Get from It by Meldola, Raphael

COAL-TAR, the black, viscous, sometimes semi-solid, fluid of peculiar smell, which is condensed together with aqueous “gas liquor” when the volatile products of the destructive distillation of coal are cooled down.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various

The Chemistry of Roasting The effect of the heat in the roasting of coffee is largely evidenced as a destructive distillation and also as a partial dehydration.

From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)