Cracking (chemistry)
THERMAL OR CATALYTIC DECOMPOSITION OF A COMPOUND SUCH AS A HYDROCARBON INTO CHEMICAL SPECIES OF SMALLER MOLECULAR WEIGHT
Hydrocracking; Hydrocracker; Thermal cracking; Catalytic hydrocracking; FCCU; Cracking of petroleum; Petroleum cracking; Hydrogen catalytic cracking; Unicracking; Steam Cracking; Chemical cracking; Pyrolytic Cracking; Crack (chemistry); Hydrocarbon cracking; Cracking of hydrocarbons
In petrochemistry, petroleum geology and organic chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long-chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products are strongly dependent on the temperature and presence of catalysts.