ABSTRACT
In early studies of radiation-induced processes in hydrocarbons since the 1950s, any structural or chemical changes that occurred in hydrocarbons under the action of ionizing irradiation were covered by the term “hydrocarbon radiolysis.” However, numerous experimental data have shown that mechanisms of radiation-chemical reactions in hydrocarbons undergo considerable changes at heightened temperatures and high dose rates of irradiation. In this chapter, it is assumed that radiolysis includes the phenomena observed in irradiated materials at relatively low temperatures (about room temperature) and relatively low dose rates (lower than 1 kGy/s).
