Wood furniture waste and scrap tires were pyrolyzed in a pilot scale batch flaming pyrolyzer. The effect of temperature, fuel/air ratio, and reaction times on the temperature distribution, gas and char pyrolysis yields, oxygen levels, SO2 and NOx emissions, and pyrolysis gas composition were studied. Low emission levels of NOx, SO2, and heavy metals were observed in the pyrolysis of wastes with high content of nitrogen (chipboard), sulfur, or heavy metals (scrap tires), respectively. The main components of the pyrolysis gas were acetylene, methane, and carbon monoxide. Gas chromatographic, GC-MS, and FT-IR studies of the heavy hydrocarbons fraction of pyrolysis gas were consistent with each other and showed the presence of alcohols, carboxylic derivatives, heterocyclic and phenolic compounds in furniture waste pyrolysate, and aromatic compounds in tires pyrolysate. Kovats indices for GC-MS retention times were calculated for a series of organic compounds of environmental interest. Organic compounds in the pyrolysate were identified from mass spectra and by comparison of retention times with authentic standards or published Kovats indices. The heating value of the pyrolysis gas from furniture waste and scrap tire was 8.7 and 5.6 MJ/m(3), respectively.