Kinetics of the primary cracking reactions occurring in the high pressure thermal hydrogenolysis of 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydronaphthalene (tetralin) and hydrindene (indan) were studied in a flow reactor at temperatures from 4 6 8 to 548C, total pressures from 10 to 160 atm. and molar ratios of hydrogen-tohydrocarbon from 2 to 100.As primary cracking products from tetralin were identified n-butylbenzene, styrene, ethylene, I-methylindan and o-propyltoluene.From indan were obtained n-propylbenzene, toluene, ethylene, o-ethyltoluene, o-xylene and methane.Chain mechanisms are proposed for the reactions leading to these primary products.The theoretical rate equations derived from these are in good agreement with experimental results.
IatroductionThe present publication deals with results of the first part of our experiments on hydrocracking of poly-aromatic hydrocarbons. Hydrocracking meets growing interest from the petroleum industry as a process for converting high molecular oil fractions into a wide range of low boiling components. In the field of thermal hydrocracking extensive work has been published on thermal hydrodealkylation of toluene and xylenesl-'. Our work was strongly motivated by the fact that minor Present address: