Thermal hydrocracking of indan. Effects of the hydrogen pressure on thekinetics and Arrhenius parameters

✍ Scribed by M. Van Boven; G. J. Roskam; J. M. L. Penninger

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 481 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0538-8066
• DOI: 10.1002/kin.550070305

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The kinetics of the thermal hydrocracking of indan were investigatedin a high‐pressure flow reactor at temperatures from 470 to 530°C, total pressures of up to 300 atm, and molar ratios from 3 to 40. The effect of the hydrogen pressure was reflected especially in a change of the experimental rate equations for the formation of toluene from r~T~=k [indan]^0.5^ [hydrogen] to r~T~=k′ [indan] ^0.75^[hydrogen]^0.75^ with hydrogen partial pressureincreasing from 73 to 230 atm. The rate equation of n‐propylbenzene remained constant at r~Pr~=k″ [indan] [hydrogen]^1.5^. Simultaneously the Arrheniusparameters of toluene changed significantly, while those of n‐propylbenzene remained unchanged.

The observed effect of the hydrogen pressure is explained as a change inthe rates of the intermediate reactions; it provides an excellent agreementbetween the theoretical and experimental data. It was found that the steady‐state concentration of the hydrogen atoms, which act as chain carriers in the thermal hydrocracking, was much smaller than the thermodynamic equilibrium concentrations