Kinetics of the pyrolysis of propylene. Part I

Abstract

The kinetics of the pyrolysis of propylene have been studied over the temperature range 743–873 °K and the pressure range 200–600 Torr. At the lower temperatures initial rates of formation of methane, propane, and C6 products were measured and shown to be formed by a radical process of very short chain length. The orders and activation energies of the rates were consistent with the occurrence of the bimolecular initiation step[Formula: see text]Measurement of the pressure change showed that products of molecular weight higher than C7 and not measured by the analysis were formed in the initial stages of the reaction at the lower temperatures. As these higher molecular weight compounds, which are more unstable than propylene, accumulated in the system their dissociation increased the concentration of radicals and caused a sharp increase in the rates of formation of the lower molecular weight stable products.