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Kinetics and modelling of heptane steam-cracking

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Abstract

The kinetics and product distribution during the cracking of heptane in the presence of steam were investigated. The experiments were performed in a flow reactor under atmospheric pressure in a temperature range of 680–760°C with a mass ratio of steam to heptane of 3: 1. The overall decomposition of heptane is represented by a first-order reaction with activation energy of 249.1 kJ mol−1 and a frequency factor of 3.13 × 1013 s−1. The reaction products were analysed using gas chromatography, the main product being ethylene. The molecular reaction scheme, which consists of a primary reaction and 24 secondary reactions between primary products, was used for modelling the experimental product yields. The yields of ethylene and hydrogen were in good agreement; however the experimental yields of propylene were higher than the predicted yields.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Petroleum Technology and Petrochemistry, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Natália Olahová, Martin Bajus & Elena Hájeková

  2. Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Lukáš Šugár & Jozef Markoš

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  1. Natália Olahová
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  2. Martin Bajus
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  3. Elena Hájeková
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  4. Lukáš Šugár
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  5. Jozef Markoš
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Correspondence to Natália Olahová.

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Dedicated to the memory of professor Elemír Kossaczký

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Olahová, N., Bajus, M., Hájeková, E. et al. Kinetics and modelling of heptane steam-cracking. Chem. Pap. 68, 1678–1689 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11696-013-0518-2

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