12/30/2020 Petrochemical - Wikipedia

Petrochemical
Petrochemicals (also known as petroleum distillates; and sometimes abbreviated as
petchems[1]) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical
compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural
gas, or renewable sources such as maize, palm fruit or sugar cane.

The two most common 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
Petrochemical plant in written the Kingdom of
for polymers and oligomers used in plastics, resins, fibers, elastomers, lubricants, and gels.[2][3] Saudi Arabia

Global ethylene and propylene production are about 115 million tonnes and 70 million tonnes per
annum, respectively. Aromatics production is approximately 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:

Olefins includes Ethene, Propene, Butenes and butadiene. Ethylene and propylene are important sources of industrial chemicals and plastics
products. Butadiene is used in making synthetic rubber.
Aromatics includes Benzene, toluene and xylenes, as a whole referred to as BTX and primarily obtained from petroleum refineries by extraction
from the reformate produced in catalytic reformers using Naphtha obtained from petroleum refineries. Alternatively, BTX can be produced by
aromatization of alkanes[4][5][6]. Benzene is a raw material for dyes and synthetic detergents, and benzene and toluene for isocyanates MDI and
TDI used in making polyurethanes. Manufacturers use xylenes to produce plastics and synthetic fibers.
Synthesis gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen used to make ammonia and methanol. Ammonia is used to make the fertilizer
urea and methanol is used as a solvent and chemical intermediate. Steam crackers are not to be confused with steam reforming plants used to
produce hydrogen and ammonia.
Methane, ethane, propane and butanes obtained primarily from natural gas processing plants.
Methanol and formaldehyde.

In 2007, the amounts of ethylene and propylene produced in steam crackers were about 115 Mt (megatonnes) and 70 Mt, respectively.[7] The output
ethylene capacity of large steam crackers ranged up to as much as 1.0 – 1.5 Mt per year.[8]

The adjacent diagram schematically depicts the major hydrocarbon sources and processes used in producing petrochemicals.[2][3][9][10]

Like commodity chemicals, petrochemicals are made on a very large scale.

Petrochemical manufacturing units differ from commodity chemical plants in that
they often produce a number of related products. Compare this with specialty
chemical and fine chemical manufacture where products are made in discrete
batch processes.

Petrochemicals are predominantly made in a few manufacturing locations around

the world, for example in Jubail & Yanbu Industrial Cities in Saudi Arabia, Texas
& Louisiana in the US, in Teesside in the Northeast of England in the United
Kingdom, in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, in Jamnagar, Dahej in Gujarat, India
and in Singapore. Not all of the petrochemical or commodity chemical materials
produced by the chemical industry are made in one single location but groups of
related materials are often made in adjacent manufacturing plants to induce
industrial symbiosis as well as material and utility efficiency and other economies
of scale. This is known in chemical engineering terminology as integrated
manufacturing. Speciality and fine chemical companies are sometimes found in
similar manufacturing locations as petrochemicals but, in most cases, they do not
need the same level of large scale infrastructure (e.g., pipelines, storage, ports and
power, etc.) and therefore can be found in multi-sector business parks. Petrochemical feedstock sources

The large scale petrochemical manufacturing locations have clusters of

manufacturing units that share utilities and large scale infrastructure such as
power stations, storage tanks, port facilities, road and rail terminals. In the United Kingdom for example, there are 4 main locations for such
manufacturing: near the River Mersey in Northwest England, on the Humber on the East coast of Yorkshire, in Grangemouth near the Firth of Forth
in Scotland and in Teesside as part of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC). To demonstrate the clustering and integration,
some 50% of the United Kingdom's petrochemical and commodity chemicals are produced by the NEPIC industry cluster companies in Teesside.

Contents
History
Olefins
Aromatics
List of petrochemicals
See also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical 1/5
12/30/2020 Petrochemical - Wikipedia

References
External links

History
In 1835, Henri Victor Regnault, a French chemist left vinyl chloride in the sun and found white solid at the bottom of the flask which was polyvinyl
chloride. In 1839 Eduard Simon, discovered polystyrene by accident by distilling storax. In 1856, William Henry Perkin discovered the first
synthetic dye, Mauveine. In 1888, Friedrich Reinitzer, an Austrian plant scientist observed cholesteryl benzoate had two different melting points. In
1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland invented bakelite made from phenol and formaldehyde. In 1928 synthetic fuels invented using Fischer-Tropsch
process. In 1929, Walter Bock invented synthetic rubber Buna-S which is made up of styrene and butadiene and used to make car tires. In 1933,
Otto Röhm polymerized the first acrylic glass methyl methacrylate. In 1935, Michael Perrin invented polyethylene. After World War II,
polypropylene was discovered in the early 1950s. In 1937, Wallace Hume Carothers invented nylon. In 1946, he invented Polyester. Polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) bottles are made from ethylene and paraxylene. In 1938, Otto Bayer invented polyurethane. In 1941, Roy Plunkett invented
Teflon. In 1949, Fritz Stastny turned polystyrene into foam. In 1965, Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar.[11]

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

ethylene – the simplest olefin; used as a chemical feedstock and

ripening stimulant
polyethylene – polymerized ethylene; LDPE, HDPE, LLDPE
ethanol – via ethylene hydration (chemical reaction adding water) of
ethylene
ethylene oxide – via ethylene oxidation
ethylene glycol – via ethylene oxide hydration
engine coolant – ethylene glycol, water and inhibitor mixture
polyesters – any of several polymers with ester linkages in
the main chain Chemicals produced from ethylene
glycol ethers – via glycol condescension
ethoxylates
vinyl acetate[12]
1,2-dichloroethane
trichloroethylene
tetrachloroethylene – also called perchloroethylene; used as a dry cleaning solvent and degreaser
vinyl chloride – monomer for polyvinyl chloride
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – type of plastic used for piping, tubing, other things

propylene – used as a monomer and a chemical feedstock

isopropyl alcohol – 2-propanol; often used as a solvent or rubbing alcohol
acrylonitrile – useful as a monomer in forming Orlon, ABS
polypropylene – polymerized propylene
propylene oxide [13]
polyether polyol – used in the production of polyurethanes
propylene glycol – used in engine coolant [14]and aircraft deicer fluid
glycol ethers – from condensation of glycols
acrylic acid [15][16][17]
Chemicals produced from propylene
acrylic polymers
allyl chloride –
epichlorohydrin – chloro-oxirane; used in epoxy resin formation
epoxy resins – a type of polymerizing glue from bisphenol A, epichlorohydrin, and some amine
Butene
isomers of butylene – useful as monomers or co-monomers
isobutylene – feed for making methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) or monomer for copolymerization with a low percentage of isoprene to
make butyl rubber
1,3-butadiene (or buta-1,3-diene) – a diene often used as a monomer or co-monomer for polymerization to elastomers such as
polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene rubber, or a plastic such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
synthetic rubbers – synthetic elastomers made of any one or more of several petrochemical (usually) monomers such as 1,3-butadiene,
styrene, isobutylene, isoprene, chloroprene; elastomeric polymers are often made with a high percentage of conjugated diene monomers
such as 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, or chloroprene
higher olefins
polyolefins such poly-alpha-olefins, which are used as lubricants
alpha-olefins – used as monomers, co-monomers, and other chemical precursors. For example, a small amount of 1-hexene can be
copolymerized with ethylene into a more flexible form of polyethylene.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical 2/5
12/30/2020 Petrochemical - Wikipedia

other higher olefins

detergent alcohols

Aromatics
benzene – the simplest aromatic hydrocarbon
ethylbenzene – made from benzene and ethylene
styrene made by dehydrogenation of
ethylbenzene; used as a monomer
polystyrenes – polymers with styrene 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 Chemicals produced from benzene

epoxy resins – a type of polymerizing glue

from bisphenol A, epichlorohydrin, and some amine
polycarbonate – a plastic polymer made from bisphenol A and phosgene (carbonyl dichloride)
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
nylons – types of polyamides, some are from polymerizing caprolactam
nitrobenzene – can be made by single nitration of benzene
aniline – aminobenzene
methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) – used as a co-monomer with diols or polyols to form polyurethanes or with di- or polyamines
to form polyureas
alkylbenzene – a general type of aromatic hydrocarbon, which can be used as a precursor for a sulfonate surfactant (detergent)
detergents – often include surfactants types such as alkylbenzenesulfonates and nonylphenol ethoxylates
chlorobenzene

toluene – methylbenzene; can be a solvent or precursor for other chemicals

benzene
toluene diisocyanate (TDI) – used as co-monomers with polyether polyols to form
polyurethanes or with di- or polyamines to form polyureas polyurethanes
benzoic acid – carboxybenzene
Chemicals produced from toluene
caprolactam

mixed xylenes – any of three dimethylbenzene isomers, could be a solvent but

more often precursor chemicals
ortho-xylene – both methyl groups can be oxidized to form (ortho-)phthalic acid
phthalic anhydride
para-xylene – both methyl groups can be oxidized to form terephthalic acid
dimethyl terephthalate – can be copolymerized to form certain polyesters
polyesters – although there can be many types, polyethylene
terephthalate is made from petrochemical products and is very widely
used in petrol stations
purified terephthalic acid – often copolymerized to form polyethylene Chemicals produced from xylenes
terephthalate
polyesters
meta-xylene
isophthalic acid
alkyd resins
Polyamide Resins
Unsaturated Polyesters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical 3/5
12/30/2020 Petrochemical - Wikipedia

List of petrochemicals
Petrochemicals Fibers Petroleum Chemicals
Basic Feedstock
Benzene
Butadiene
Ethylene
p-Xylene
Propylene

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

See also
Petroleum
Petroleum products
Instrumentation in petrochemical industries
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference(APIC)
Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster(NEPIC)

References
1. Kiesche, Liz, "Royal Dutch Shell may take 50% stake in $9B Indian
petchem project" (https://seekingalpha.com/news/3604684-royal-dut
ch-shell-may-take-50-stake-in-9b-indian-petchem-project-reuters),
Reuters via Seeking Alpha, August 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
2. Sami Matar and Lewis F. Hatch (2001). Chemistry of Petrochemical
Processes. Gulf Professional Publishing. ISBN 0-88415-315-0.
3. Staff (March 2001). "Petrochemical Processes 2001". Hydrocarbon
Processing: 71–246. ISSN 0887-0284 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/
0887-0284).
4. Rodrigues, Victor de O.; Faro Júnior, Arnaldo C. (2012-09-05). "On
catalyst activation and reaction mechanisms in propane
aromatization on Ga/HZSM5 catalysts" (http://www.sciencedirect.co
m/science/article/pii/S0926860X12003171). Applied Catalysis A:
General. 435-436: 68–77. doi:10.1016/j.apcata.2012.05.036 (https://
doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.apcata.2012.05.036). ISSN 0926-860X (https://
www.worldcat.org/issn/0926-860X).
5. Song, Changyeol; Gim, Min Yeong; Lim, Yong Hyun; Kim, Do Heui
(2019-09-01). "Enhanced yield of benzene, toulene, and xylene from
the co-aromatization of methane and propane over gallium
supported on mesoporous ZSM-5 and ZSM-11" (http://www.scienced
irect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236119306349). Fuel. 251: 404–
412. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2019.04.079 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.fue
l.2019.04.079). ISSN 0016-2361 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0016
-2361).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical
6. Akhtar, M. N.; Al-Yassir, N.; Al-Khattaf, S.; Čejka, Jiří (2012-01-05).
"Aromatization of alkanes over Pt promoted conventional and
mesoporous gallosilicates of MEL zeolite" (http://www.sciencedirect.c
om/science/article/pii/S0920586111005244). Catalysis Today. The
4th Czech-Italian-Spanish (CIS-4) workshop on Molecular Sieves
and Catalysis. 179 (1): 61–72. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2011.06.036 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cattod.2011.06.036). ISSN 0920-5861 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/issn/0920-5861).
7. Hassan E. Alfadala, G.V. Rex Reklaitis and Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi
(Editors) (2009). Proceedings of the 1st Annual Gas Processing
Symposium, Volume 1: January, 2009 – Qatar (1st ed.). Elsevier
Science. pp. 402–414. ISBN 978-0-444-53292-3.
8. Steam Cracking: Ethylene Production (http://www.technip.com/pdf/br
ochures/Ethylene.pdf) (PDF page 3 of 12 pages)
9. SBS Polymer Supply Outlook (http://www.tsp2.org/news/Butadiene%
20Supply%20AMAP%20Update.pdf)
10. Jean-Pierre Favennec (Editor) (2001). Petroleum Refining: Refinery
Operation and Management. Editions Technip. ISBN 2-7108-0801-3.
11. "Timeline – Petrochemicals Europe" (https://www.petrochemistry.eu/
about-petrochemistry/timeline/). www.petrochemistry.eu. Retrieved
2018-04-07.
4/5
12/30/2020 Petrochemical - Wikipedia

12. Han, Y. -F.; Wang, J. -H.; Kumar, D.; Yan, Z.; Goodman, D. W. (2005- 15. Hävecker, Michael; Wrabetz, Sabine; Kröhnert, Jutta; Csepei,
06-10). "A kinetic study of vinyl acetate synthesis over Pd-based Lenard-Istvan; Naumann d'Alnoncourt, Raoul; Kolen'Ko, Yury V.;
catalysts: kinetics of vinyl acetate synthesis over Pd–Au/SiO2 and Girgsdies, Frank; Schlögl, Robert; Trunschke, Annette (2012).
Pd/SiO2 catalysts" (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S "Surface chemistry of phase-pure M1 MoVTeNb oxide during
0021951705001405). Journal of Catalysis. 232 (2): 467–475. operation in selective oxidation of propane to acrylic acid" (https://pur
doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2005.04.001 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jcat.200 e.mpg.de/rest/items/item_1108560_8/component/file_1402724/conte
5.04.001). ISSN 0021-9517 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0021-951 nt). J. Catal. 285: 48–60. doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2011.09.012 (https://doi.o
7). rg/10.1016%2Fj.jcat.2011.09.012). hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0012-
13. Lee, Eo Jin; Lee, Jong Won; Lee, Joongwon; Min, Hyung-Ki; Yi, 1BEB-F (https://hdl.handle.net/11858%2F00-001M-0000-0012-1BEB
Jongheop; Song, In Kyu; Kim, Do Heui (2018-06-01). "Ag-(Mo- -F).
W)/ZrO2 catalysts for the production of propylene oxide: Effect of pH 16. Naumann d'Alnoncourt, Raoul; Csepei, Lénárd-István; Hävecker,
in the preparation of ZrO2 support" (http://www.sciencedirect.com/sci Michael; Girgsdies, Frank; Schuster, Manfred E.; Schlögl, Robert;
ence/article/pii/S1566736718301353). Catalysis Communications. Trunschke, Annette (2014). "The reaction network in propane
111: 80–83. doi:10.1016/j.catcom.2018.04.005 (https://doi.org/10.101 oxidation over phase-pure MoVTeNb M1 oxide catalysts" (https://pur
6%2Fj.catcom.2018.04.005). ISSN 1566-7367 (https://www.worldcat. e.mpg.de/rest/items/item_1896844_6/component/file_1896843/conte
org/issn/1566-7367). nt). J. Catal. 311: 369–385. doi:10.1016/j.jcat.2013.12.008 (https://do
14. [1] (https://patents.google.com/patent/HU209546B/en), "Anti-freeze i.org/10.1016%2Fj.jcat.2013.12.008). hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-
solution for internal combustion engines", issued 1990-11-12 0014-F434-5 (https://hdl.handle.net/11858%2F00-001M-0000-0014-
F434-5).
17. Kinetic studies of propane oxidation on Mo and V based mixed oxide
catalysts (https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_1199619_5/componen
t/file_1199618/content). 2011.

External links
Media related to Petrochemicals at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Petrochemical&oldid=991143925"

This page was last edited on 28 November 2020, at 14:18 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical 5/5