N.D. Hesse and R.L. White, "Polyethylene Catalytic Hydrocracking by PtHZSM-5, PtHY, and PtHMCM-41", J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 92, 1293-1301 (2004).

Temperature-dependent evolution profiles derived from mass spectra obtained while heating polyethylene/catalyst samples were used to determine polymer hydrocracking mechanisms. Repetitive injection GC/MS was used to identify class-specific data tags for paraffins, olefins, and alkyl aromatics. Iso-conversion effective activation energy plots generated from class-specific data tags were used to compare cracking mechanisms for the different catalysts. The effects of hydrogen on polymer cracking processes were found to be dramatic, resulting in significant differences in iso-conversion effective activation energy plots. Cracking mechanism differences were attributed primarily to differences in catalyst acidity and pore size.