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Oil and gas production handbook An introduction to oil ... - ABB Group

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7 Petrochemical<br />

Petrochemicals are chemicals made from petroleum or natural <strong>gas</strong>. Primary<br />

petrochemicals are divided in<strong>to</strong> three groups, depending on their chemical<br />

structure:<br />

Olefins include ethylene, propylene, <strong>and</strong> butadiene. Ethylene <strong>and</strong> propylene<br />

are important sources of industrial chemicals <strong>and</strong> plastics products.<br />

Butadiene is used in making synthetic rubber. Olefins are produced by<br />

cracking.<br />

Aromatic petrochemicals include benzene, <strong>to</strong>luene, <strong>and</strong> xylenes. Benzene<br />

is used in the manufacture of dyes <strong>and</strong> synthetic detergents. Toluene is used<br />

in making explosives. Manufacturers use xylenes in making plastics <strong>and</strong><br />

synthetic fibers. Aromatics are produced by reforming.<br />

Synthesis <strong>gas</strong> (SynGas) is a mixture of carbon monoxide <strong>and</strong> hydrogen,<br />

<strong>and</strong> is used <strong>to</strong> make the petrochemicals ammonia <strong>and</strong> methanol. Ammonia<br />

is used in making fertilizers <strong>and</strong> explosives, where methanol serves as a<br />

source for other chemicals.<br />

Figure 23. Petrochemical tree: feeds<strong>to</strong>ck <strong>and</strong> primary petrochemicals<br />

The primary petrochemicals are not end products, but form building blocks<br />

for a wide range of materials. Therefore, each primary petrochemical gives<br />

name <strong>to</strong> a chain of reactions leading <strong>to</strong> those materials. There are almost<br />

200 petrochemicals that can be described this way. There are more<br />

87

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