ABSTRACT
Hydrocarbon pyrolysis is a major source of ethylene, propylene, butadiene, and aromatics, the principal feedstocks of the petrochemical industry. Thermal cracking of naphtha is becoming increasingly important because of the large yield of olefins it creates. Uncertainties in the petrochemical feedstock market require today’s more than billion-pound-per-year pyrolysis plants be designed for a variety of feedstocks. For design of such versatile crackers, an overall kinetic equation for the feed disappearance is generally not sufficient, since the prediction of the product distribution is a very important design aspect. There is now a general trend toward the development and use of detailed kinetic models for a wide range of feedstocks.
