Initiation Step of Methane Pyrolysis. Further Studies on Initiation Step of Methane Pyrolysis

Abstract

The pyrolysis of diluted mixture of equimolar CH4 and CD4 were performed in a shock tube between ∼1500 K and ∼1600 K, and pyrolysis products were quantitatively determined. A small amount of oxygen contaminating the sample gases had no influence on the results. The isotope exchange reactions in the equimolar lean mixture of H2 and D2 were also performed under the same conditions of methane pyrolysis. The results explained that the isotope exchange reaction between H2 and D2 had no influence on the hydrogen isotopic distribution produced by the CH4-CD4 pyrolysis. From the hydrogen isotopic distribution of the products of CH4-CD4 pyrolysis, methyl radical mechanism was confirmed as the initiation step of methane pyrolysis.