Petro Chemistry

A large group of chemicals distinct from fuels derived from petroleum and natural gas and used for a variety of commercial purposes are called Petrochemicals. The whole range of aliphatic, aromatic, and naphthenic organic chemicals, as well as carbon black and Inorganic materials such as sulfur and ammonia are included in it. A specific chemical included among the petrochemicals in many instances may also be obtained from other sources such as coal, coke or vegetable products. Materials like benzene and naphthalene can be made from either petroleum or coal, while ethyl alcohol may be of petrochemical or vegetable origin. This makes it difficult to categorize a specific substance as petrochemical or Non petrochemical. It are often seen that petrochemicals are produced from simple compounds like methane, ethylene and acetylene but not multicomponent products like naphtha, fuel oil etc. These are the chemicals that are made up of petroleum and gas. Petroleum and gas are made from hydrocarbon molecules, which comprises of 1 or more carbon atoms, to which hydrogen atoms are attached. About 5% oil and gas consumed annually is required to form all the petrochemical products. Petrochemicals play a crucial role on our food, clothing, shelter and leisure. Because of low cost and straightforward availability, oil and gas are considered to be the most sources of raw materials for many petrochemicals. Petrochemicals can be broadly classified into three categories: