Hydrocarbon pyrolyses have occupied a central role In the development of gas kinetics, first, because of their great economic potential, and secondly, because their relative molecular simplicity has been thought to offer the prospect of reasonably straightforward elucidation of the processes involved. Hydrocarbon pyrolyses to produce olefins, diolefins, and aromatics are the main processes of today's petrochemical industry. The purpose of this survey is to review a sub-set of this broad field of study-the thermal decomposition of propane. More than a decade ago it would have been relatively easy to review the entire hydrocarbon pyrolysis field, but the number of studies published in the past ten years restricts this review to the field of propane pyrolysis. A summary of recently reported data and results does not exist. Therefore, the intent of this review is to compile the propane pyrolysis data and to present the available knowledge to those interested in hydrocarbon pyrolysis studies and the positive impact that may occur within the petrochemical industry.

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