Pyrolysis gasoline or pygas is a naphtha-range product with high aromatics content.
[1] It is a by-product of high temperature naphtha cracking during ethylene and propylene production, a high octane number mixture that contains aromatics from the aromatization reactions, olefins, and paraffins ranging from C5s to C12s.
Pygas has high potential for use as a gasoline blending mixture and/or as a source of aromatics.
Currently, pygas is generally used as a gasoline blending mixture due to its high octane number.
Pyrolysis gasoline can be blended with other hydrocarbons as a gasoline additive, or distilled (in BTX process) to separate it into its components, including benzene.