What is the petrochemical industry?

petrochemical industry is a group of companies that produce organic compounds from oil and other types of fossil fuels. Petrochemical products are used to create goods such as plastics, cosmetics, lubricants and colors. This differs from the oil industry that produces fuel used for energy, transport and heating. Petrochemical production is a key part of almost all worldwide production processes. While the US and Western Europe have been the largest centers of petrochemical production since the end of World War II, the Middle East and Asia countries will also develop refining and processing centers to support their own production. In some areas, petrochemicals are also made of sugar cane, corn and other organic agricultural sources. This is often done that have few sources of fossil fuels, but have room for extensive agriculture. Petrochemical production occupies around 5 percent of the annual offer of oil and gas, leading to research on alternative renewable sourcesThe ones with less volatile prices.

The production process usually begins in a refinery, where raw fossil fuels are divided into lighter ingredients used for fuel and petrochemical. This industry takes these refined products and processes them into various petrochemicals such as ethylene, propylene, butadien, benzene, toluene, xylene and synthetic gas. This process is known as cracking and can be done using thermal or chemical catalysts. These products are then used to produce goods for consumers and other industries.

petrochemical production can be a dangerous process due to high temperatures and volatile compounds. In addition to the risk of chemical explosion and fire, these devices can also contribute to air and water pollution. Many countries carefully regulate the construction and operation of petrochemical production facilities to alleviate the risks and damage caused by the environment. In some areasEmissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the petrochemical industry are also studied to determine their effect on the global climate.

The establishment of the petrochemical industry meant a significant point in the development of human production technology. With synthetic materials derived from petrochemicals, production was no longer dependent on natural substances such as rubber and cotton to create consumer goods such as tires and clothing. Many goods on the market contain synthetic materials obtained from the petrochemical industry, either in the product itself or in the package.