This article explains how synthetic products are produced and used in everyday life, discussing the processes of the petrochemical industry, its limitations, and sustainable alternatives.
Take a look inside the room you live in. What do you see? You probably see clothes lying around, pay-as-you-throw plastic bags for trash, empty milk bottles, and synthetic rubber mats. They all have one thing in common: they’re synthetic. In fact, synthetics are so ubiquitous that it’s harder to find something that isn’t synthetic than something that is. Clothes are made of synthetic fibers like nylon and polyester, plastic bags are made of plastic and plastic bottles are made of polyethylene, a thermoplastic. The synthetic rubber in synthetic rubber mats is made up of polyisoprene, which is made by polymerizing isoprene. We’ve all wondered at one time or another how these synthetic products are made. So, how are synthetic products that are closely related to our daily lives produced?
Synthetic products are created by the petrochemical industry, which is a type of polymer chemical industry. The petrochemical industry is an industry that uses petroleum or natural gas as raw materials to obtain chemical products, and it occupies an important place in the modern chemical industry. Through the petrochemical industry, we can make many synthetic products such as synthetic fibers, synthetic resins (plastics), synthetic rubber, plasticizers, and pharmaceuticals. This process involves a complex combination of chemical reactions and processes to create many of the products we use every day. The development of the petrochemical industry is one of the important factors that form the basis of modern industry.
The petrochemical industry is of great significance because it has transformed the raw materials for the chemical industry. Whereas the chemical industry was based on things like coal, animals and plants, the petrochemical industry is based on hydrocarbons contained in oil and natural gas. The discovery of hydrocarbons has changed the chemical industry, for example, the use of syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide made by incomplete oxidation of hydrocarbons, in the production of methanol and ammonia. It has also led to the discovery of many new synthetic methods and the invention of new products and the development of new technologies.
To obtain hydrocarbons for use in the petrochemical industry, crude oil must first be refined. The main component of crude oil is hydrocarbons, which are molecules made up of carbon and hydrogen, and there are several types of hydrocarbons depending on the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in the molecule and its structure. By taking advantage of the fact that these hydrocarbons have different boiling points (the higher the number of carbons, the higher the boiling point), it is possible to separate gasoline, kerosene, diesel, heavy fuel oil, naphtha, etc. from crude oil.
Of these separated substances, naphtha is by far the most commonly used in the petrochemical industry. Naphtha is cracked into petrochemical base oils such as ethylene, propylene, and butane in a naphtha cracking center (NCC), which are obtained by fractional distillation of a liquid mixture. These base oils are used in a variety of chemical syntheses, with ethylene being the primary raw material for the petrochemical industry. A significant amount of ethylene is used in the manufacture of polyethylene, which is used in various containers and packaging films. Ethylene also reacts with chlorine to make vinyl chloride and is synthesized into ethylene oxide, which is used as a raw material for synthetic detergents.
Propylene, which has one more carbon than ethylene, is synthesized into polypropylene, which is used as a raw material for synthetic fibers, acrylonitrile, which is a raw material for acrylic fibers, and glycerol, which is used as a desiccant. In addition, acetylene, which has a triple bond, is highly reactive with other substances, mainly through addition and imposition reactions, such as acetaldehyde when reacted with water and vinyl chloride when reacted with hydrogen chloride. Acetylene is an important industrial raw material because it can be used to synthesize various other types of acetylene derivatives.
The petrochemical industry is very attractive because it can synthesize many different types of hydrocarbons in a variety of ways to produce many substances with high added value. However, petrochemicals also have some limitations. First of all, petrochemicals are a capital-intensive industry that requires a lot of capital and technology. The first disadvantage is the high initial investment cost. Also, petrochemicals are a source of pollution. With environmental awareness becoming increasingly important, there is room for improvement. Finally, there’s the fact that oil is depleting. It’s not an infinite resource, and some argue that it will run out within a few decades.
Even with all of these limitations, the petrochemical industry is still very valuable. If the limitations listed above can be overcome, the future of the petrochemical industry is bright, as it is capable of creating a myriad of synthetic products from hydrocarbons.
In recent years, researchers have been working hard to find sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. One of them is the biochemical industry, which uses biomass as a feedstock. Biochemicals are produced using plant-based raw materials and have the potential to compensate for the limitations of the petrochemical industry. Advances in recycling technology are also playing an important role. As plastics recycling technology improves, more and more attention is being paid to ways to reuse existing plastics as raw materials. These new technologies and methods will contribute to increasing the sustainability of the petrochemical industry.
Therefore, we need to recognize our current limitations and continue our efforts to overcome them. Given the importance of synthetic products in our daily lives, advancements and innovations in the petrochemical industry will continue to be crucial. A deeper understanding and research into the direction of the petrochemical industry is needed to ensure a sustainable future.
