cracking

What is cracking? Fuels made from oil mixtures containing large hydrocarbon molecules are not efficient. They do not flow easily and are difficult to ignite. Crude oil often contains too many large hydrocarbon molecules and not enough small hydrocarbon molecules to meet demand - this is where cracking comes in. Cracking allows large hydrocarbon molecules to be broken down into smaller, more useful hydrocarbon molecules. Fractions containing large hydrocarbon molecules are vaporised and passed over a hot catalyst. This breaks chemical bonds in the molecules, and forms smaller hydrocarbon molecules. Cracking is an example of a thermal decomposition reaction.

What is cracking used for? The cracking is used to breaks down big hydrocarbon into smaller ones and make more useful.