8. Glossary

Cracking; cracking

In petrochemistry, thermolysis of petroleum and its liquid derivatives. The operation consists in breaking down a complex organic molecule into smaller elements, notably alkanes, alkenes, aldehydes and ketones.

Dispersion; dispersion

Ratio between the number of surface atoms and the total number of atoms. This is a unitless number, often expressed as a %.

Dismutation; dismutation

A chemical reaction in which one species reacts with itself, and is found after the reaction in the form of two species.

Hydrogenation; hydrogenation

Chemical reaction involving the addition of a dihydrogen molecule (H ₂ ) to another compound. This reaction is usually used to...