Thermal cracking is currently used to "upgrade" very heavy fractions or to produce light fractions or distillates, burner fuel and/or petroleum coke.

In thermal cracking, high temperatures (typically in the range of 450°C to 750°C) and pressures (up to about 70 atmospheres) are used to break the large hydrocarbons into smaller ones. Thermal cracking gives mixtures of products containing high proportions of hydrocarbons with double bonds - alkenes.

Thermal cracking, employing heat and high pressures, was introduced in 1913 but was replaced after 1937 by catalytic cracking, the application of catalysts that facilitate chemical reactions producing more gasoline.

Thermal cracking produces shorter straight chain alkanes from longer straight chains found in gas oils or other crude oil fractions. Free radicals (reactive species with unpaired electrons, but no electronic charge) are the active species that govern thermal cracking reactions.

Jan 23, 2023 · Thermal cracking gives mixtures of products containing high proportions of hydrocarbons with double bonds - alkenes. Thermal cracking does not go via ionic intermediates like catalytic cracking. Instead, carbon-carbon bonds are broken so that each carbon atom ends up with a single electron.

Thermal cracking is a process in which high heat and temperature are used to break down long-chained, higher-boiling hydrocarbons into shorter-chained, lower-boiling hydrocarbons, extracting usable components known as fractions.

Sep 27, 2017 · The main difference between thermal cracking and catalytic cracking is that thermal cracking uses heat energy for the breakdown of compounds whereas catalytic cracking involves a catalyst to obtain products.