Primary pyrolysis and oxidation reactions of linear and branched alkanes

Detailed kinetic schemes of hydrocarbon pyrolysis, partial oxidation, and combustion are now becoming more available in the technical literature, and despite their dimensions and complexity they are based on only a limited set of independent kinetic parameters and simplifying assumptions. These hypotheses and kinetic parameters as well as the automatic generation of these reaction mechanisms are discussed and analyzed in this paper. Some examples are reported to demonstrate the reliability of these mechanistic schemes, both in pyrolysis processes for ethylene production and in the oxidation of hydrocarbon mixtures in engines.