Petrochemical
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.
Chemical plants produce olefins by steam cracking of natural gas liquids like ethane and propane.
The largest petrochemical industries are located in the United States and Western Europe; however, major growth in new production capacity is in the Middle East and Asia.
Petrochemical manufacturing units differ from commodity chemical plants in that they often produce a number of related products.
Petrochemicals are predominantly made in a few manufacturing locations around the world, for example in Jubail and Yanbu Industrial Cities in Saudi Arabia, Texas and Louisiana in the US, in Teesside in the Northeast of England in the United Kingdom, in Tarragona in Catalonia, in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, in Antwerp in Belgium, in Jamnagar, Dahej in Gujarat, India and in Singapore.
Specialty 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.)
In 1888, Friedrich Reinitzer, an Austrian plant scientist observed cholesteryl benzoate had two different melting points.
In 1929, Walter Bock invented synthetic rubber Buna-S which is made up of styrene and butadiene and used to make car tires.
[10] The following is a partial list of major commercial petrochemicals and their derivatives: Intermediates2-Ethylhexanol (2-EH)Acetic acidAcrylonitrile (AN)AmmoniaBis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (dioctyl phthalate)n-ButeneCyclohexaneDimethyl terephthalate (DMT) DodecylbenzeneEthanolEthanolamineEthoxylate1,2-Dichloroethane (ethylene dichloride or EDC)Ethylene glycol (EG)Ethylene oxide (EO)Formaldehyde Moulding Compound (FMC)n-HexeneLinear alkyl benzene (LAB)MethanolMethyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) PhenolPropylene oxidePurified terephthalic acid (PTA)Styrene monomer (SM)Thermosetting Resin (Urea/Melamine)Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM)Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)
