Petrochemicals
In the basic sense, petrochemicals are chemical goods derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds can also be created from other fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and renewable resources like corn, sugarcane and more. The biggest petrochemical industries are in the United States, western European countries and of course Middle East and Asian countries like Iran.
Two main types of petrochemicals
The two general classes of petrochemicals are olefins and aromatics. Olefins are unsaturated hydrocarbons meaning that they only contain hydrogen and carbon atoms and have at least one double or triple bond in their structure. They are used in the basis for the polymer in producing plastics, resins, fibers, lubricants, and gels. You should know that the annual production of olefins is upwards of 100 million tons. The two types of olefins include ethylene and propylene. Ethylene does not dissolve in water but usually blends well with most organic solvents and is knows as a volatile organic compound. It is the main ingredient of various kinds of broadly used plastics and synthetic rubbers including paints, coatings and more.
Propylene is the other form of olefin. It is an organic compound that is a vital basic chemical in the petrochemical industry. Propylene has essentially no use as is but alternatively, it is an essential raw material used in the making of other organic chemicals such as propylene oxide, glycerin and more. Aromatics are the second main class of petrochemicals and it should be noted that aromatic compounds also play a fundamental role in the biochemistry of living organisms. There of the subgroups in the petrochemical industry are benzene, toluene, and xylene. Aromatics can also be called by the acronym BTX which stands for the main subgroups (Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene) in the petroleum industry. One of the important aromatic hydrocarbons is hydrocarbon resin that has an adhesion effect and it is useful for paint, printing ink, rubber and more.
The petrochemical industry
The increase of the population and a rise in individual buying power, have resulted in a growth in the market for finished goods and higher consumption of energy all over the world. Cheaper crude oil values and lower energy consumption will lead to greater petrochemical demand and vice-versa.
As stated before chemicals derived from petroleum or natural gas are petrochemicals which are vital to today’s industry. Petrochemistry is a somewhat young industry that just started developing in the 1940s. During World War 2 the need for synthetic materials made the petrochemical industry to produce a major requirement in today’s economy and society. Petrochemicals do not reach the final consumer. They are sold into other industries so that they can undergo transformations to create goods that apparently bear no relation whatsoever into the original raw material.
“Toseaye Pardis Sabz”, the supplier of organic and inorganic pigments, exports all kind of petrochemical products and all of them are able to easily compete with its foreign counterparts. These petrochemical products include pigments, masterbatches, resins and stabilizers that are useful for a wide variety of industries all around the world.
Source: R & D Unit of Toseaye Pardis Sabz
