In 1851 he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Graz, followed by several years working as an assistant at the Joanneum. Afterwards, he continued his education at Heidelberg, where he studied with Robert Bunsen (1811-1899) and Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887).
In 1855, he became a privat-docent of theoretical chemistry. From 1857, he served as an associate professor at the University of Lemberg. Pebal remained a professor at Lemberg until 1865, after which he became a professor at the University of Graz.
He planned the new chemistry laboratory in Graz, which was finished in 1878.
Adolph Wurtz (1817-1884) was sent by the French government to report about the laboratory. The possibility that the institute would be divided into two independent institutes troubled Pebal, but with the help of colleagues the problems were resolved.
His wide-ranging research included studies involving the composition of stearic and citric acid. Pebal was murdered by an employee of the University in front of his laboratory, where he died shortly after the attack.
