Topic summary
Thermal cracking
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Cracking (chemistry).
Thermal cracking
Modern high-pressure thermal cracking operates at absolute pressures of about 7,000 kilopascals (1,000 psi). An overall process of disproportionation can be observed, where "light", hydrogen-rich products are formed at the expense of heavier molecules which condense and are depleted of hydrogen. The actual reaction is known as homolytic fission and produces alkenes, which are the basis for the economically important production of polymers.