1

10/30/2019
Introduction to Polymer Engineering

Raw Materials of Polymers

 Raw Materials 2

10/30/2019
Monomers: vinyl chloride, ethylene, propylene and similar simple
hydrocarbons
Chemical intermediates : phenol, formaldehyde,
hexamethylenetetramine, phthalic anhydride, methyl acrylate and
methacrylate
Other raw materials: plasticizers, fillers, and reinforcements are
also added to alter the properties of the plastic products.
Primary Source of Monomers 3

10/30/2019
The most important primary sources of synthetic polymers
are crude oil, natural gas and, to a minor extent, coal.
Both oil and natural gas can be used to make polyethylene
for example. 
 Crude Oil 4

Crude oil is a naturally occurring,

10/30/2019
unrefined petroleum product composed of
hydrocarbon deposits and other organic
materials.
A type of fossil fuel, crude oil can be
refined to produce usable products such
as gasoline, diesel and various forms of
petrochemicals.
It is a non-renewable resource, which
means that it can't be replaced naturally
at the rate we consume it and is therefore
a limited resource.
Formation of Crude Oil 5

Microscopic plants and animals die and fall to the sea bed

10/30/2019
Crude oil forms when organic matter is buried deep
underground in an oxygen free environment. Over millions of
years the carbon rich compounds from the bodies of dead
organism are subjected to high temperature and pressure
which changed them into hydrocarbons. Natural gas (mainly
CH4
methane ), an important fossil fuel is also found trapped
with crude oil under rock sediments. Oil obtained by drilling.
 Extraction and Transport of Crude 6
Oiloil, natural gas or coal can be extracted from under the sea or land,
Crude

10/30/2019
where they have remained trapped for millions of years. Companies like Shell
and BP have invested billions of pounds exploiting oil under the North Sea, just
off the coast of Scotland. The North Sea has about 45 oil platforms producing up
to four million barrels a day. England has sufficient oil reserves meeting its
current demand for the next forty years.
Processing of Crude Oil 7

Close to where it is stored, oil refineries process crude oil so

10/30/2019
that it can be more useful to us. There is a great demand for
fuels like petrol and deiseal and of course natural gas for
heating.
Distillation of Crude Oil 8

Crude oil is a mixture of different hydrocarbons. They can be separated

10/30/2019
byfractional distillation according to their boiling point which change
according to their size (carbon atoms) The most volatile fraction, i.e with
the lowest boiling point evaporates off first and goes to the top of the
column. The remaining, longer chain hydrocarbons also separate out
according to their boiling points
 10/30/2019
Distillation of Crude Oil 9
The various components of crude oil have different sizes, weights and boiling temperatures; so, the first step is to separate these
components. Because they have different boiling temperatures, they can be separated easily by a process called fractional distillation.
The steps of fractional distillation are as follows:
You heat the mixture of two or more substances (liquids) with different boiling points to a high temperature. Heating is usually done
with high pressure steam to temperatures of about 1112 degrees Fahrenheit / 600 degrees Celsius.
The mixture boils, forming vapor (gases); most substances go into the vapor phase.
The vapor enters the bottom of a long column (fractional distillation column) that is filled with trays or plates. The trays have many
holes or bubble caps (like a loosened cap on a soda bottle) in them to allow the vapor to pass through. They increase the contact time
between the vapor and the liquids in the column and help to collect liquids that form at various heights in the column. There is a
temperature difference across the column (hot at the bottom, cool at the top).
The vapor rises in the column.
As the vapor rises through the trays in the column, it cools.
When a substance in the vapor reaches a height where the temperature of the column is equal to that substance's boiling point, it
will condense to form a liquid. (The substance with the lowest boiling point will condense at the highest point in the column; substances
with higher boiling points will condense lower in the column.).
The trays collect the various liquid fractions.
The collected liquid fractions may pass to condensers, which cool them further, and then go to storage tanks, or they may go to other
areas for further chemical processing
Fractional distillation is useful for separating a mixture of substances with narrow differences in boiling points, and is the most
important step in the refining process.
Petrochemicals 10

“Petrochemical” is any chemical derived, directly or

10/30/2019
indirectly from petroleum or natural gas or obtained from
hydrocarbons and utilized in industrial & household markets.
The petrochemical industry produces various kinds of
chemical products such as polymers, fibers or rubber, from
such raw materials as petroleum, LPG, natural gas and other
hydrocarbons through many different production processes.
Hydrocarbons, the source material, are used to produce a
variety of components including ethylene, propylene,
butadiene and pyrolysis gasoline through non-catalytic
thermal decomposition reaction with steam (steam cracking).
Process Involved 11

10/30/2019
Cracking:
Thermal cracking.
Catalytic cracking.

Reforming:
Catalytic reforming.
Steam reforming.
Chemical Products produced from 12
Crude Oil

10/30/2019
Ethylene Derivatives 13

10/30/2019
Propylene Derivatives 14

10/30/2019
Benzene Derivatives 15

10/30/2019
Other Crude Oil Aromatic Derivatives 16

10/30/2019