Decomposition of Liquid Petroleum Products under Pressure in a High-Voltage Arc

Up to the present time, research on the decomposition of liquid organic feedstocks in electrical discharges for the purpose of obtaining acetylene-rich gases has been carried out at normal or reduced pressure. When the pressure is reduced to 40–100 mm Hg, there is an increase of 5–7 vol.% in the acetylene concentration of the gas [1, 2]. However, practical realization of electrocracking under reduced pressure involves various technical difficulties. In addition, the extra energy expended on maintaining the vacuum must inevitably lead to increased costs.