cracking
Sign in to savethermal or catalytic decomposition of a compound such as a hydrocarbon into chemical species of smaller molecular weight
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Cracking is a chemical process that breaks down large hydrocarbon molecules (like those in crude oil) into smaller, more useful molecules by applying heat or using catalysts. It matters because it's a key step in refining petroleum to produce fuels like gasoline and other valuable chemicals.
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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. Cracking is the breakdown of large hydrocarbons into smaller, more useful alkanes and alkenes. Simply put, hydrocarbon cracking is the process of breaking long-chain hydrocarbons into short ones. This process requires high temperatures.
More loosely, outside the field of petroleum chemistry, the term "cracking" is used to describe any type of splitting of molecules under the influence of heat, catalysts and solvents, such as in processes of destructive distillation or pyrolysis.