Thermal cracking is a chemical process used in the petroleum industry to break down large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, more useful ones, such as gasoline and diesel. This process involves heating crude oil to high temperatures, typically between 450°C and 750°C, which causes the long-chain hydrocarbons to break apart. The main goal of thermal cracking is to increase the yield of valuable products from crude oil. It is an essential step in refining, helping to convert heavy oils into lighter fractions. This process can be performed in various types of reactors, including batch reactors and continuous flow reactors.