KINETICS OF COKE DEPOSITION IN THE THERMAL-CRACKING OF PROPANE

A novel experimental set up for determining the kinetics of coke deposition in thermal cracking is described and its application to the cracking of propane is illustrated. The reactor itself is of the completely mixed type and provides kinetic information on propane cracking which is in agreement with that obtained in tubular reactors. A simple reaction scheme and the corresponding kinetic equation for the coking are fitted to the data, which were determined by means of an electro-balance technique. The kinetic equations are inserted into a mathematical model of an industrial cracking coil and the operation of this reactor is simulated over a period of 700 hr. The results are in agreement with the scarce information available. © 1979.