STEAM CRACKING OF HYDROCARBONS .1. PYROLYSIS OF HEPTANE

The thermal decomposition of heptane in the presence of steam was studied in a flow reactor with large inner surface. The experiments were performed at atmospheric pressure in a temperature range of 680-760°C for a mass ratio of steam to hydrocarbon 3:1. The reaction products were analyzed by gas chromatography. For the identification both comparison of retention indices with those of standard compounds and literature data and mass spectrometry were used. The conversion process appeared to be a first-order reaction with a frequency factor of 1.34 X 1011 s-1 and an activation energy of 195.5 kj mol-1. The composition of the mixture of reaction products was in agreement with the Rice-Kossiakoff theory, except for ethane and 1-hexene. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.