Petrochemical

In 1835, Henri Victor Regnault, a French chemist left vinyl chloride in the sun and found white solid at the bottom of the flask which was polyvinyl chloride. In 1839, Eduard Simon discovered polystyrene by accident by distilling storax. In 1856, William Henry Perkin discovered the first synthetic dye, Mauveine. In 1888, Friedrich Reinitzer, an Austrian plant scientist observed cholesteryl benzoate had two different melting points. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland invented bakelite made from phenol and formaldehyde. In 1920, Union Carbide built in West Virginia first petrochemical plant in the world. In 1928, synthetic fuels were invented using Fischer-Tropsch process. In 1929, Walter Bock invented synthetic rubber Buna-S which is made up of styrene and butadiene and used to make car tires. In 1933, Otto Röhm polymerized the first acrylic glass methyl methacrylate. In 1935, Michael Perrin invented polyethylene. In 1937, Wallace Hume Carothers invented nylon. In 1938, Otto Bayer invented polyurethane. In 1941, Roy Plunkett invented Teflon. In 1946, he invented Polyester. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are made from ethylene and paraxylene. In 1949, Fritz Stastny turned polystyrene into foam. After World War II, polypropylene was discovered in the early 1950s. In 1965, Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar. == Olefins ==

The following is a partial list of major commercial petrochemicals and their derivatives: • ethylene – the simplest olefin; used as a chemical feedstock and ripening stimulant • polyethylene – polymerized ethylene; LDPE, HDPE, LLDPE • ethanol – via ethylene hydration (chemical reaction adding water) of ethylene • ethylene oxide – via ethylene oxidation • ethylene glycol – via ethylene oxide hydration • engine coolant – ethylene glycol, water and inhibitor mixture • polyesters – any of several polymers with ester linkages in the main chain • glycol ethers – via glycol condescension • ethoxylates • vinyl acetate • 1,2-dichloroethane • trichloroethylene • tetrachloroethylene – also called perchloroethylene; used as a dry cleaning solvent and degreaser • vinyl chloride – monomer for polyvinyl chloride • polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – a type of plastic used for piping, tubing, other things • propylene – used as a monomer and a chemical feedstock • isopropyl alcohol – 2-propanol; often used as a solvent or rubbing alcohol • acrylonitrile – useful as a monomer in forming Orlon, ABS • polypropylene – polymerized propylene • propylene oxide • polyether polyol – used in the production of polyurethanes • propylene glycol – used in engine coolant and aircraft deicer fluid • glycol ethers – from the condensation of glycols • acrylic acid • acrylic polymers • allyl chloride • epichlorohydrin – chloro-oxirane; used in epoxy resin formation • epoxy resins – a type of polymerizing glue from bisphenol A, epichlorohydrin, and some amine • butene • isomers of butylene – useful as monomers or co-monomers • isobutylene – feed for making methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) or monomer for copolymerization with a low percentage of isoprene to make butyl rubber • 1,3-butadiene (or buta-1,3-diene) – a diene often used as a monomer or co-monomer for polymerization to elastomers such as polybutadiene, styrene-butadiene rubber, or a plastic such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) • synthetic rubbers – synthetic elastomers made of any one or more of several petrochemical (usually) monomers such as 1,3-butadiene, styrene, isobutylene, isoprene, chloroprene; elastomeric polymers are often made with a high percentage of conjugated diene monomers such as 1,3-butadiene, isoprene, or chloroprene • higher olefins • polyolefins – such poly-alpha-olefins, which are used as lubricants • alpha-olefins – used as monomers, co-monomers, and other chemical precursors. For example, a small amount of 1-hexene can be copolymerized with ethylene into a more flexible form of polyethylene. • other higher olefins • detergent alcohols == Aromatics ==

The most economically significant aromatic petrochemicals are the so-called BTX fractions (benzene, toluene, and mixed xylenes), which are derived from naphtha via fractional distillation. Heavier distillates contain heavier aromatics. Naphthalene, the simplest polyaromatic compound, is found in crude oil and coal tar. The heaviest aromatic compounds found in bitumen are called asphaltenes. • benzene – the simplest aromatic hydrocarbon • ethylbenzene – made from benzene and ethylene • styrene – made by dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene; used as a monomer • polystyrenes – polymers with styrene as a monomer • cumene – isopropylbenzene; a feedstock in the cumene process • phenol – hydroxybenzene; often made by the cumene process • acetone – dimethyl ketone; also often made by the cumene process • bisphenol A – a type of "double" phenol used in polymerization in epoxy resins and making a common type of polycarbonate • epoxy resins – a type of polymerizing glue from bisphenol A, epichlorohydrin, and some amine • polycarbonate – a plastic polymer made from bisphenol A and phosgene (carbonyl dichloride) • solvents – liquids used for dissolving materials; examples often made from petrochemicals include ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, benzene, toluene, xylenes • cyclohexane – a 6-carbon aliphatic cyclic hydrocarbon sometimes used as a non-polar solvent • adipic acid – a 6-carbon dicarboxylic acid, which can be a precursor used as a co-monomer together with a diamine to form an alternating copolymer form of nylon. • nylons – types of polyamides, some are alternating copolymers formed from copolymerizing dicarboxylic acid or derivatives with diamines • caprolactam – a 6-carbon cyclic amide • nylons – types of polyamides, some are from polymerizing caprolactam • nitrobenzene – can be made by single nitration of benzene • aniline – aminobenzene • methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) – used as a co-monomer with diols or polyols to form polyurethanes or with di- or polyamines to form polyureas • alkylbenzene – a general type of aromatic hydrocarbon, which can be used as a precursor for a sulfonate surfactant (detergent) • detergents – often include surfactants types such as alkylbenzene sulfonates and nonylphenol ethoxylates • chlorobenzene • toluene – methylbenzene; can be a solvent or precursor for other chemicals • benzene • toluene diisocyanate (TDI) – used as co-monomers with polyether polyols to form polyurethanes or with di- or polyamines to form polyureas polyurethanes • benzoic acid – carboxybenzene • caprolactam • mixed xylenes – any of three dimethylbenzene isomers, could be a solvent but more often precursor chemicals • ortho-xylene – both methyl groups can be oxidized to form (ortho-)phthalic acid • phthalic anhydride • para-xylene – both methyl groups can be oxidized to form terephthalic acid • dimethyl terephthalate – can be copolymerized to form certain polyesters • polyesters – although there can be many types, polyethylene terephthalate is made from petrochemical products and is very widely used in petrol stations • purified terephthalic acid – often copolymerized to form polyethylene terephthalate • polyesters • meta-xylene • isophthalic acid • alkyd resins • polyamide resins • unsaturated polyesters ==See also==