Primary reactions of the thermal decomposition of tricyclodecane

TL;DR

This study investigates the thermal decomposition of tricyclodecane in a jet-stirred reactor, identifying main products and proposing a detailed primary reaction mechanism that aligns with experimental data.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive primary reaction mechanism for tricyclodecane pyrolysis, including initiation and propagation steps, validated against experimental results.

Findings

Main products include hydrogen, methane, ethylene, benzene, toluene.

A primary reaction mechanism successfully models experimental conversion rates.

Flow rate and sensitivity analyses reveal key reaction pathways.

Abstract

In order to better understand the thermal decomposition of polycyclanes, the pyrolysis of tricyclodecane has been studied in a jet-stirred reactor at temperatures from 848 to 933 K, for residence times between 0.5 and 6 s and at atmospheric pressure, in order to obtain a conversion between 0.01 and 25 %. The main products of the reaction are hydrogen, methane, ethylene, ethane, propene, 1,3-cyclopentadiene, cyclopentene, benzene, 1,5-hexadiene, toluene and 3-cyclopentyl-cyclopentene. A primary mechanism containing all the possible initiation steps, including those involving diradicals, as well as propagation reactions has been developed and allows experimental results to be satisfactorily modeled. The main reaction pathways of consumption of tricyclodecane and of formation of the main products have been derived from flow rate and sensitivity analyses.