What Is Cracking?

In scientific terminology, cracking is defined in various ways. In chemical parlance, it is the process whereby heavy particles of naphtha and petroleum are broken down into hydrocarbons having a lower molecular weight, especially in the process of oil-refining. In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the procedure whereby compound organic molecules, such as kerogens and heavy hydrocarbons, are transformed to simpler molecules, such as light hydrocarbons, by the distribution of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products are heavily dependent upon the temperature and the presence of any catalysts.

Cracking means breaks in a coating that extend through to the underlying surface. The process of breaking down of the larger, heavier and more complex hydrocarbon molecules, into simpler and lighter molecules, therefore increasing the gasoline yield from crude oil is known as cracking. It is used in processing oil. It is a refining process under which hydrocarbons having heavy molecular weight are broken up into lighter hydrocarbon molecules by the application of heat and pressure, with or without the useage of catalysts, to obtain a variety of fuel products.

Cracking can either be thermal cracking or catalytic cracking. When larger hydrocarbon molecules are divided into smaller ones by heating the oil, it is identified as thermal cracking. When a catalyst is used, it is known as catalytic cracking. Organic compounds, especially hydrocarbons obtained by the distillation of petroleum, are decomposed and then recombined to form molecules that are then useful in a variety of ways, for example as motor fuels, solvents or plastics. Cracking takes place in the absence of oxygen.

To crack