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Petrochemicals are chemical products made from the hydrocarbons present in raw natural gas and petroleum crude oil. The largest petrochemical manufacturing industries are to be found in the United States, Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Feedstocks sources
The major hydrocarbon sources used in producing petrochemicals are:[1][2][3]
- Methane, ethane, propane and butanes: Obtained primarily from natural gas processing plants.
- Naphtha obtained from petroleum refineries.
- Benzene, toluene and xylenes, as a whole referred to as BTX and primarily obtained from petroleum refineries.
- Gas oil obtained from petroleum refineries.
Methane and BTX are used directly as feedstocks for producing petrochemicals.
However, the ethane, propane, butanes, naphtha and gas oil serve as optional feedstocks for processing in steam-assisted thermal cracking plants known as steam crackers to produce these intermediate petrochemical feedstocks:
In 2008, the amounts of ethylene and propylene produced in steam crackers were about 125 Mt (megatonnes) and 75 Mt, respectively.
The adjacent diagram depicts the all of the major petrochemical feedstocks.
Feedstocks and example petrochemical products
| methane | ethylene | propylene | butenes and butadienes | benzene | toluene | xylenes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hydrogen | polyethylene | polypropylene | styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) | styrene | benzoic acid | phthalic anhydride |
| ammonia | ethanol | isopropanol | methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) | polystyrene | toluene diisocyanate | polyesters |
| methanol | ethylene glycol | propylene glycol | polybutadiene | phenol | polyurethanes | dimethyl terephthalate |
| methyl chloride | vinyl acetate | allyl chloride | acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) | cumene | caprolactam | terephthalate acid |
| carbon black | perchloroethylene | acrylonitrile | polybutenes | aniline | nylons | polyethylene terephthalate |
| acetylene | polyvinyl acetate | acrylic acid | methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) | adipic acid | polyureas | dioctyl phthalate |
| formaldehyde | glycol ethers | epoxy resins | tert-butanol | nylons |
References
- ↑ Staff (March 2001). "Petrochemical Processes 2001". Hydrocarbon Processing: pp. 71-246. ISSN 0887-0284.
- ↑ SBS Polymer Supply Ooutlook
- ↑ Jean-Pierre Favennec (Editor) (2001). Petroleum Refining: Refinery Operation and Management. Editions Technip. ISBN 2-7108-0801-3.
Miscellaneous notes
From these basic building blocks is made a very wide range of chemicals and other materials used in industry - monomers, solvents, detergents, and adhesives. From the monomers, polymers or oligomers are produced for plastics, resins, fibers, elastomers, certain lubricants, and gels.