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Thermal cracking of ethane and ethylene in a stock tube
Author(s) -
Miller I. F.,
Churchill S. W.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690080214
Subject(s) - acetylene , ethylene , cracking , thermal decomposition , carbon monoxide , chlorine , hydrogen , shock tube , chemistry , decomposition , thermodynamics , shock wave , materials science , organic chemistry , catalysis , physics
The rates of decomposition of ethane and ethylene were measured at temperatures between 1,250° and 2,800°K. and pressures between 0.25 and 2.0 atm. by exposing the gases to high temperature during the interval between the arrival of a compression wave and a reflected rarefaction wave in a shock tube. As contrasted with cracking at lower temperatures the ethane apparently reacted to hydrogen, ethylene, and acetylene and the ethylere to hydrogen and acetylene with negligible side reactions or polymerization. The over‐all decomposition rates at high temperature fall off sharply from those extrapolated from low temperature, indicating a change in mechanism. Additions of air, oxygen, carbon monoxide, and chlorine in amounts up to 17% did not effect the rate constants significantly.