High-temperature pyrolysis of acetaldehyde

High-temperature (>1000°K) pyrolysis of acetaldehyde (～1% in an atmosphere of pure nitrogen) was examined in a turbulent flow reactor which permits accurate determination of the spatial distribution of the stable species. Results show that the products in order of decreasing importance are CO, CH₄, H₂, C₂H₆, and C₂H₄. Rates of formation were consistent with the Rice–Herzfeld mechanism by including reactions to explain C₂H₄ formation and the possible presence of ketene. A steady-state treatment of the complete mechanism indicates that the overall reaction order decreases from \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \frac{3}{2} $\end{document} to 1, which is supported by the new experimental data. Using earlier low-temperature results, the rate constant for the reaction CH₃CHO → CH₃ + CHO (1) was found as k₁=10^15.85±0.21 exp (?81,775±1000/RT) sec^?1. Also, data for the ratio of rate constants for reactions CH₃CHO + CH₃ → CH₄ + CH₃CO (4) and 2CH₃ → C₂H₆(6) were fitted to the empirical expression k₄/k₆^1/2=10^?13.89±0.03T^6.1 exp(?1720±70/RT) (cm³/mole·sec)^1/2 and causes for the curvature are discussed. The noncatalytic effect of oxygen on acetaldehyde pyrolysis at high temperature is explained.