PETROCHEMICAL BRANCH

Petrochemical. CHEMICAL COMPOUND

Petrochemical, in the strictest sense, any of a large group of chemicals (as distinct from
fuels) derived from petroleum and natural gas and used for a variety of commercial
purposes. The definition, however, has been broadened to include the whole range of
aliphatic, aromatic, and naphthenic organic chemicals, as well as carbon black and
such inorganic materials as sulfur and ammonia. In many instances, a specific chemical
included among the petrochemicals may also be obtained from other sources, such
as coal, coke, or vegetable products. For example, materials such as benzene and
naphthalene can be made from either petroleum or coal, while ethyl alcohol may be of
petrochemical or vegetable origin. This makes it difficult to categorize a specific
substance as, strictly speaking, petrochemical or non-petrochemical.

Examples of Petrochemicals and Petroleum Products

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, petroleum is a "thick, flammable, yellow-
to-black mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons that occurs naturally
beneath the earth's surface, can be separated into fractions including natural gas,
gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, fuel, and lubricating oils, paraffin wax, and asphalt and is
used as raw material for a wide variety of derivative products." In other words,
petroleum is much more than oil, and it has an astounding array of uses.
The Many Uses of Petrochemicals
Petrochemicals are any products made from petroleum. You're probably aware gasoline
and plastic start out as petroleum, but petrochemicals are incredibly versatile and are
incorporated into a huge range of products ranging from groceries to rocket fuel.
The Primary Hydrocarbons
Raw crude oil and natural gas are purified into a relatively small number of
hydrocarbons (combinations of hydrogen and carbon). These are used directly in
manufacturing and transportation or act as feedstock to make other chemicals.
 Methane: a greenhouse gas that can be used as fuel and is often included in
rocket fuel
 Ethylene: used to make plastics and films, as well as detergents, synthetic
lubricants, and styrenes (used to make protective packaging)
 Propylene: a colorless, odorless gas used for fuel and to make polypropylene, a
versatile plastic polymer used to make products ranging from carpets to structural
foam
 Butanes: hydrocarbon gases that are generally used for fuel and in industry
 Butadiene: used in the manufacture of synthetic rubbers
 BTX (benzene, toluene, and xylene): benzene, toluene, and xylene are aromatic
hydrocarbons. A major part of gasoline, benzene is also used to make nylon fibers
which, in turn, are used to make clothing, packaging, and many other products
Medicine
Petrochemicals play many roles in medicine because they are used to create resins,
films, and plastics. Here are just a few examples:
1. Phenol and Cumene are used to create a substance that is essential for
manufacturing penicillin (an extremely important antibiotic) and aspirin. 
2. Petrochemical resins are used to purify drugs, thus cutting costs and speeding
the manufacturing process.
3. Resins made from petrochemicals are used in the manufacture of drugs including
treatments for AIDS, arthritis, and cancer.
4. Plastics and resins made with petrochemicals are used to make devices such as
artificial limbs and skin.
5. Plastics are used to make a huge range of medical equipment including bottles,
disposable syringes, and much more.

Food
Petrochemicals are used to make most food preservatives that keep food fresh on the
shelf or in a can. In addition, you'll find petrochemicals listed as ingredients in many
chocolates and candies. Food colorings made with petrochemicals are used in a
surprising number of products including chips, packaged foods, and canned or jarred
foods.

Agriculture
More than a billion pounds of plastic, all made with petrochemicals, find use annually in
U.S. agriculture. The chemicals are used to make everything from plastic sheeting and
mulch to pesticides and fertilizers. Plastics are also used to make twine, silage, and
tubing. Petroleum fuels are also used to transport foods (which are, of course, stored in
plastic containers). 
Household Products
Because it is used to make plastics, fibers, synthetic rubber, and films, petrochemicals
are used in a bewildering array of household products. To name just a few:
 Carpeting
 Crayons
 Detergents
 Dyes
 Fertilizers
 Milk jugs
 Pantyhose
 Perfume
 Safety glass
 Shampoo
 Soft contact lenses
 Wax
 Petrochemical refinery

Petroleum refining: Petrochemicals

Definition: Petrochemicals are simply chemicals that happen to be derived from a

starting material obtained from petroleum.

They are products made from petrochemicals include such items as plastics, soaps and
detergents, solvents, drugs, fertilizers, pesticides, explosives, synthetic fibres and
rubbers, paints, epoxy resins, and flooring and insulating materials. Petrochemicals are
found in products as diverse as aspirin, luggage, boats, automobiles,
aircraft, polyester clothes, and recording discs and tapes.

Like crude oil and natural gas, petrochemicals are composed primarily of carbon

and hydrogen and are called hydrocarbons. If, in the molecules, the carbon atoms are
linked by single bonds, the molecules are said to be saturated. If they are linked by one
or more double bonds, the molecules are said to be unsaturated. Unsaturated
chemicals are preferred as petrochemical feedstocks because they are more chemically
reactive and can more easily be changed into other petrochemicals.

The various components of petroleum used as raw materials in the production of other
chemicals are known as feedstocks. Petrochemical feedstocks can be classified into
three general groups: olefins, aromatics, and a third group that includes
synthesis gas and inorganics. Olefins, whose molecules form straight chains and are
unsaturated, include ethylene, propylene, and butadiene. Ethylene is the hydrocarbon
feedstock used in greatest volume in the petrochemical industry. From ethylene, for
example, are manufactured ethylene glycol, used in polyester fibres and resins and in
antifreezes; ethyl alcohol, a solvent and chemical reagent; polyethylene, used in film
and plastics; styrene, used in resins, synthetic rubber, plastics, and polyesters;
and ethylene dichloride, for vinyl chloride, used in plastics and fibres. Propylene is used
in making such products as acrylics, rubbing alcohol, epoxy glue, and carpets.
Butadiene is used in making synthetic rubber, carpet fibres, paper coatings,
and plastic pipes.

Aromatics are hydrocarbon molecules that form rings and are unsaturated. The major
aromatic feedstocks are benzene, toluene, xylene, and naphthalene. Benzene is used
to make styrene, the basic ingredient of polystyrene plastics. It is also used to make
paints, epoxy resins, glues, and other adhesives. Toluene is used primarily to make
solvents, gasoline additives, and explosives. Xylene is used in the manufacture of
plastics and synthetic fibres and in the refining of gasoline. Naphthalene is notably used
in insecticides.

Synthesis gas is used to make ammonia and methanol. Ammonia is used primarily to

form ammonium nitrate, a source of fertilizer. Much of the methanol produced is used in
making formaldehyde. The rest is used to make polyester fibres, plastics, and silicone
rubber
.
The petrochemical industry received its chief impetus in 1913 from the development of
the thermal-cracking process by which crude petroleum was refined. The process
yielded gaseous by-products that were at first used only as illuminating gas or as fuel
but were found useful as chemical raw materials in the 1920s and ’30s. The introduction
of catalytic cracking in 1937 and increased supplies of natural gas brought further
expansion of the industry.
KEY WORDS
Petroleum Petróleo
Natural gas Gas natural
Carbon black Negro carbón
Sulfur and ammonia Azufre y Amoniaco
Coal Carbón
Coke Coca
Vegetable products Productos vegetales
Benzene Benceno
Ethyl alcohol Alcohol etílico
Polyester Poliéster
Crude oil Petróleo crudo
Hydrogen Hidrógeno
Hydrocarbons Hidrocarburos
Ethylene Etileno
Propylene Propileno
Butadiene Butadieno
Ethylene glycol Etilenglicol
Solvent Solvente
Polyethylene Polietileno
Styrene Estireno
Rubber Caucho
Ethylene dichloride Dicloruro de etileno
Vinyl chloride Cloruro de vinilo
Toluene,  Tolueno,
Xylene, Xileno,
Naphthalene Naftalina
Polystyrene Poliestireno
Methanol Metanol
Ammonium nitrate Nitrato de amonio
Thermal-cracking Craqueo térmico
Catalytic cracking Craqueo catalítico

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