Thermal Cracking of JP-10 under Pressure

Thermal cracking of a high density hydrocarbon fuel, JP-10 (exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene), was studied on a batch reactor under different pressures. The effluent was cooled and collected at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The gaseous and liquid components were quantitatively determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. The conversion of JP-10 has relatively low value at atmospheric pressure and increases under pressure. With an increase of the pressure, the relative content of ethene or propene decreases and that of methane, ethane, or propane increases simultaneously. In the liquid products, cyclopentane, cyclopentene, 1,3-cyclopentadiene, and cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-2-ene are found to be major components. Substituted cyclopentene, benzene, toluene, and naphthalene are also observed under high pressures and temperatures. A probable mechanism of the thermal cracking of JP-10 is proposed to explain the product distribution. The process of isomerization might be dominating for liquid product formation during the thermal cracking under elevated pressure.