Kinetics and mechanism of thermoradiation decomposition of water vapour and its mixtures with acceptors

Water-vapour radiolysis under accelerated electrons in a one-pass flow system was investigated. The radiolysis parameters were changed over a wide range. Pure water vapour and its mixture with carbon monoxide were irradiated. The maximum radiation hydrogen yield Gsub(m) = 8 in pure water vapour independent of dose rate was obtained at temperatures higher than Tsub(c). In mixtures of H2O + CO at definite parameters the radical processes of water vapour decomposition transforms into a chain mechanism (the chain length ν < or approx. 200). The kinetics and the mechanisms of radical and chain processes of water vapour decomposition were considered. (author)