Petrochemicals | Petroleum products | The Chemicals Man I

Petrochemicals (also known as petroleum distillates) are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn, 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 for polymers and oligomers used in plastics, resins, fibers, elastomers, lubricants, and gels

Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries. Unlike petrochemicals, which are a collection of well-defined usually pure chemical compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. The majority of petroleum is converted to petroleum products, which includes several classes of fuels.

According to the composition of the crude oil and depending on the demands of the market, refineries can produce different shares of petroleum products. The largest share of oil products is used as "energy carriers", i.e. various grades of fuel oil and gasoline. These fuels include or can be blended to give gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, heating oil, and heavier fuel oils. Heavier (less volatile) fractions can also be used to produce asphalt, tar, paraffin wax, lubricating and other heavy oils. Refineries also produce other chemicals, some of which are used in chemical processes to produce plastics and other useful materials. Since petroleum often contains a few percent sulfur-containing molecules, elemental sulfur is also often produced as a petroleum product. Carbon, in the form of petroleum coke, and hydrogen may also be produced as petroleum products. The hydrogen produced is often used as an intermediate product for other oil refinery processes such as hydrocracking and hydrodesulfurization.

Oil refineries will blend various feedstocks, mix appropriate additives, provide short term storage, and prepare for bulk loading to trucks, barges, product ships, and railcars.

Gaseous fuels such as propane, stored and shipped in liquid form under pressure in specialized railcars to distributors.

Liquid fuels blending (producing automotive and aviation grades of gasoline, kerosene, various aviation turbine fuels, and diesel fuels, adding dyes, detergents, antiknock additives, oxygenates, and anti-fungal compounds as required). Shipped by barge, rail, and tanker ship. May be shipped regionally in dedicated pipelines to point consumers, particularly aviation jet fuel to major airports, or piped to distributors in multi-product pipelines using product separators called pipeline inspection gauges ("pigs").

Lubricants (produces light machine oils, motor oils, and greases, adding viscosity stabilizers as required), usually shipped in bulk to an offsite packaging plant.

Paraffin wax, used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others. May be shipped in bulk to a site to prepare as packaged blocks.

Slack wax, a raw refinery output comprising a mixture of oil and wax used as a precursor for scale wax and paraffin wax and as-is in non-food products such as wax emulsions, construction board, matches, candles, rust protection, and vapor barriers.

Sulfur, byproduct of sulfur removal from petroleum, which contain percent of organosulfur compounds.

Bulk tar shipping for offsite unit packaging for use in tar-and-gravel roofing or similar uses.

Asphalt - used as a binder for gravel to form asphalt concrete, which is used for paving roads, lots, etc. An asphalt unit prepares bulk asphalt for shipment.

Petroleum coke, used in specialty carbon products such as certain types of electrodes, or as solid fuel.

Petrochemicals or petrochemical feedstocks. Petrochemical are organic compounds that are the ingredients for the chemical industry, ranging from polymers and pharmaceuticals. Representative petrochemicals are ethylene and benzene-toluene-xylenes ("BTX").

Application 

Petrochemistry produces materials that are fit for purpose. Materials can be made to be strong, resistant, transparent, flexible, hygienic, adhesive, insulating or to have a multitude of other properties. This versatility, makes petrochemical products, the material of choice of thousands of applications.