Total Pageviews

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Petrochemical Industry

Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane.
This article focuses on organic compounds that are not burned as fuel (see also Petroleum product).
Two petrochemical classes are olefins including ethylene and propylene, and aromatics including benzene, toluene and xylene isomers. Oil refineries produce olefins and aromatics by fluid catalytic cracking of petroleum fractions. Chemical plants produce olefins by steam cracking of natural gas liquids like ethane and propane. Aromatics are produced by catalytic reforming of naphtha. Olefins and aromatics are the building blocks for a wide range of materials such as solvents, detergents, and adhesives. Olefins are the basis for polymers and oligomers used in plastics, resins, fibers, elastomers, lubricants, and gels.
Global ethylene and propylene production are ~110 million tonnes and ~65 million tonnes per annum respectively. Aromatics production is ~70 million tonnes. The largest petrochemical industries are located in the USA and Western Europe; however, major growth in new production capacity is in the Middle East and Asia. There is substantial inter-regional petrochemical trade.
Primary petrochemicals are divided into three groups depending on their chemical structure:
The prefix "petro-" is an arbitrary abbreviation of the word "petroleum"; since "petro-" is Ancient Greek for "rock" and "oleum" means "oil". Therefore, the etymologically correct term would be "oleochemicals". However, the term oleochemical is used to describe chemicals derived from plant and animal fats.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] List of significant petrochemicals and their derivatives

The following is a partial list of the major commercial petrochemicals and their derivatives:

Chemicals produced from ethylene

Chemicals produced from propylene

Chemicals produced from benzene
  • benzene - the simplest aromatic hydrocarbon
    • ethylbenzene - made from benzene and ethylene
      • styrene made by dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene; used as a monomer
    • cumene - isopropylbenzene; a feedstock in the cumene process
      • phenol - hydroxybenzene; often made by the cumene process
      • acetone - dimethyl ketone; also often made by the cumene process
      • bisphenol A - a type of "double" phenol used in polymerization in epoxy resins and making a common type of polycarbonate
      • solvents - liquids used for dissolving materials; examples often made from petrochemicals include ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, benzene, toluene, xylenes
    • cyclohexane - a 6-carbon aliphatic cyclic hydrocarbon sometimes used as a non-polar solvent
      • adipic acid - a 6-carbon dicarboxylic acid which can be a precursor used as a co-monomer together with a diamine to form an alternating copolymer form of nylon.
        • nylons - types of polyamides, some are alternating copolymers formed from copolymerizing dicarboxylic acid or derivatives with diamines
      • caprolactam - a 6-carbon cyclic amide
    • nitrobenzene - can be made by single nitration of benzene
    • alkylbenzene - a general type of aromatic hydrocarbon which can be used as a presursor for a sulfonate surfactant (detergent)
    • chlorobenzene

Chemicals produced from toluene

Chemicals produced from xylenes

[edit] Petrochemicals products

Petrochemicals Polymers & Fibers Petroleum Chemicals Healthcare
Basic Feedstock
Butadiene
Ethylene
Para-xylene
Propylene Intermediates
2-Ethylhexanol (2-EH)
Acetic acid
Acrylonitrile (AN)
Ammonia
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (dioctyl phthalate)
n-Butene
Cyclohexane
Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT)
Dodecylbenzene
Ethanol
Ethanolamine
Ethoxylate
1,2-Dichloroethane (ethylene dichloride or EDC)
Ethylene glycol (EG)
Ethylene oxide (EO)
Formaldehyde
n-Hexene
Linear alkyl benzene (LAB)
Methanol
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)
Phenol
Propylene oxide
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA)
Styrene monomer (SM)
Urea
Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM)
Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)
Acrylic fiber
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
Acrylonitrile styrene (AS)
Polybutadiene (PBR)
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Polyethylene (PE)
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Polyol
Polypropylene (PP)
Polystyrene (PS)
Styrene butadiene (SBR)
Urea-formaldehyde (UF)
Lubricants
Additives
Catalysts
Marine fuel oil
Petroleum refining
Adhesives and sealants
Agrochemicals
Construction chemicals
Corrosion control chemicals
Cosmetics raw materials
Electronic chemicals and materials
Flavourings, fragrances, food additives
Specialty and industrial chemicals
Specialty and industrial gases
Inks, dyes and printing supplies
Packaging, bottles, and containers
Paint, coatings, and resins
Polymer additives
Specialty and life sciences chemicals
Surfactants and cleaning agents

No comments:

Post a Comment