Petrochemical, in a simple and basic definition, is a compound word meaning a chemical substance that is produced from oil. This industry is a branch of parent industries that produces refinery products, oil and gas, plastic, fiber raw materials, etc. and raw materials of many other industries. The raw materials used in this industry to produce these important items are processed and refined oil, gas, coal and biomass. These raw materials are used in a natural way and are prepared in the petrochemical industry using various chemical processes and changes to be presented to other industries.
The production of petrochemical products that can be used for other productions in the industry includes 5 stages. The first step is to obtain primary resources such as natural gas and oil, etc., which are basic materials in construction. The second step is to convert these materials into basic chemicals, which are then used for chemical derivatives in the next step. It also leads to the production of consumer products. These materials can be found at the base of almost all manufactured materials that humans are using. Generally, people consider these materials to be more involved in the production of plastic items; But we must know that this industry is directly or indirectly involved in many household foods and it does not end there. These materials play an important role even in more important industries such as air and space equipment, rockets, medicine, pharmaceuticals, etc.
The following products and industries are part of the products that show the efficiency of the petrochemical industry in our daily life:
Preservatives included in food or their packaging
Fertilizers and poisons
Textile industry
detergents
All kinds of plastic
automobile industry
Paper
medicine
Explosives
Household goods
Medical equipment and pharmaceutical industry
colors
Pipemag industry
Metals
Building Materials
agriculture
Satellites
Astronautical equipment
The petrochemical industry plays an important and major role in the world economy and has provided the growth of many countries. However, with the increase in the population of the earth, the demand for petrochemical products is also increasing.
It seems that the materials that are important products in this industry were first used by the Egyptians; For example, materials such as ethylene and polyethylene, or most importantly bitumen, were first used by the Egyptians in making and embalming. Currently, all three are made from oil. Today, petrochemicals have a large share in the global chemical market.
The importance of the petrochemical industry