NEW ASPECTS OF THE MECHANISM FOR THE THERMAL HYDROCRACKING OF INDAN AND TETRALIN

Thermal cracking of indan and tetralin in the gas phase was carried out in a flow reactor at 500°C and 8 MPa pressure in the presence of hydrogen and nitrogen. The primary reactions are ring cracking and dehydrogenation, regardless of the nature of the second component. Ring cracking, however, is strongly enhanced by the presence of hydrogen. This enhancement becomes less significant with increasing concentration of the hydrocarbon in the gaseous reaction mixture and also with a decreasing ratio of hydrogen to hydrocarbon. At hydrocarbon concentrations larger than approximately 0.5 g·mol/L and H2-to-HC molar ratios of 1 or lower, conversion rates are almost equal in hydrogen and in nitrogen. Ring cracking exhibits different kinetic behavior in nitrogen than in excess of hydrogen. This illustrates the occurrence of two complementary cracking mechanisms, each of which can dominate in certain concentration ranges. The H2-initiated ring cracking is gradually transformed into a hydrogen-donor mechanism as the leading reaction scheme when the concentration of indan or tetralin is increased.