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The most widespread process for rearranging hydrocarbon molecules is naphtha reforming. The initial process, thermal reforming, was developed in the late 1920s. Thermal reforming employed temperatures of 510–565 °C (950–1,050 °F) at moderate pressures—about 40 bars (4 MPa), or 600 psi—to obtain gasolines (petrols) with octane numbers of 70 to 80 from heavy naphthas with octane numbers of less than 40. The product yield, although of a higher octane level, included olefins, diolefins, and aromatic compounds. It was therefore inherently unstable in storage and tended to form heavy polymers and gums, which caused combustion problems. By 1950 a reforming process ...(100 of 11426 words)