Definition of "destructive distillation" []

• A process by which organic substances such as wood, coal, and oil shale are decomposed by heat in the absence of air and distilled to produce useful products such as coke, charcoal, oils, and gases. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.