Methane pyrolysis stimulated by admixture of atomic hydrogen: 2. Mechanism analysis and kinetics calculation

The kinetics of methane pyrolysis stimulated by the introduction of atomic hydrogen into the reaction medium from an arcjet plasma source was analyzed. Numerical simulation of the reaction kinetics demonstrated that the thermal pyrolysis at lower temperatures (1800 K or lower) followed the radical chain mechanism with short chains (a chain length of 2 or 3), and the addition of atomic hydrogen considerably increased the rate of the process. An analysis of the kinetics of pyrolysis in a stirred reactor showed that acetylene was formed immediately after methane degradation without the buildup of by-products in the reaction medium.