The thermal cleaning technique has already been in use in many industries for a number of years. It is mainly known as an effective paint stripping technique. By refining this technology, it is now possible to use the pyrolysis oven to eliminate larger amounts of contamination using specific thermal settings (e.g. for specific polymers)

During the pyrolysis process – which takes place under anoxic conditions (max +/- 9 %) – and at temperatures between +390°C and +450°C, organic materials are decomposed into smaller components. This decomposition creates pyrolysis gases which are partially converted into water and CO2 vapor. The energy produced is then used in a further cracking process performed on the remaining organic components. The remainder of the pyrolysis gases is finally incinerated at temperatures between 800° C and 1000° C to accurately control the emission process.

The standard pyrolysis process takes approximately 12 hours (including heating and cooling down times) but can be prolonged depending on the quantity and/or the nature of the contamination. By simultaneously using a number of thermocouples, the temperature of the parts can be recorded with a high degree of precision during the pyrolysis process in order to control the maximum allowed temperature of the parts.