Mechanistic modeling of the thermal cracking of tetralin

A detailed kinetic model consisting of 132 free-radical reactions has been developed to describe the thermal cracking of tetralin. The model was teste d against available experimental data for tetralin pyrolysis in the tempera ture range 350-500 degreesC. The importance of the knowledge of the impurit y levels in the tetralin used for any experiment has been shown. The format ion of the main products, namely, 1-methylindane, naphthalene, and n-butylb enzene, is correctly described. The production of 1-methylindane is due to the contraction of the saturated ring. Naphthalene is formed by dehydrogena tion reactions. The production of butylbenzene is due to the ipso addition of a hydrogen atom to tetralin. When the temperature increases, the formati on of 1-methylindane decreases, whereas those of n-butylbenzene and naphtha lene increase.