Petrochemicals & Petroleum

Refining Technology
CHAPTER 4 : PETROCHEMICALS
 PETROCHEMICALS

• Petrochemicals are chemicals made from

crude oil and natural gas.

• Crude oil and natural gas are made up of

hydrocarbon molecules, which are comprised
of one or more carbon atoms, to which
hydrogen atoms are attached.
 PETROCHEMICALS
• These chemicals can sometimes be derived from
coal and wood, both of which have carbon and
hydrogen, but are NOT then referred to as
petrochemicals.

• Currently, oil and gas are the main sources:

1. Least expensive
2. Most readily available
3. Can be processed most easily.
 PETROCHEMICALS
Petrochemicals have had
a dramatic impact on our
food, clothing, shelter
and leisure. Some
synthetics, tailored for
particular uses, actually
perform better than
products made by nature
because of their unique
properties.
Petrochemical feedstock sources.

Primary petrochemicals
 Petrochemicals Industries
Worldwide
• BASF
• Dow Chemical
• ExxonMobil Chemical
• DuPont
• Sumitomo Chemical
• Behn Meyer
• Titan Chemicals
 Petrochemicals Industry in
Malaysia
Shell
Exxon Mobil
Dow Chemical
Conoco Phillips
Kaneka
Polyplastics
Toray
Dairen
Mitsui
BP
BASF (Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (English: Baden Aniline and Soda Factory)
Idemitsu
Titan
Eastman Chemicals
Petrochemicals Production in
Malaysia
Olefins
Polyolefins
Aromatics
Ethylene oxides
Glycols
Oxo-alcohol
Exthoxylates
Acrylic acids
Phtalic anhydride
Acetic acid
Styrene monomer
Polystyrene
Ethylbenzene
Vinyl chloride monomer
PVC
 Overall Overview
Up Stream:
• Oil & Gas fields
• Offshore production platforms

Mid Stream:
• Transportation & Storage
• Pipeline transmission (Gas & Oil)
• LNG

Down Stream: Upstream Petrochemicals

• Oil Refinery
• Petrochemical plants Intermediate Petrochemicals
• Fertilisers
Downstream Petrochemicals
*Refer to the chart in E-learn
 PETROCHEMICALS
Raw Materials or Feedstocks

• The usual feedstocks are natural gas, natural gas

liquids (NGL), naphtha, gas oil and refinery gases.
• These products come from crude oil and natural gas.
• Crude oil is processed into naphtha, gas oil and
refinery gas streams.
• NGLs (ethane, propane, butane) are separated from
natural gas.
 PETROCHEMICALS
• These feedstocks for petrochemical processing
are fed into reactors. Through the application of
heat and pressure or by reaction with other raw
materials, they are converted into the primary
petrochemicals which are then separated by
distillation and extraction.

• Most primary petrochemicals are further

processed and upgraded. intermediate
petrochemicals
 PETROCHEMICALS
Raw Materials or Feedstocks

Production of Aromatics
Production of Unsaturated HCs
Production of Aromatics

Sulfolane Extraction
 Production of Aromatics

Fractional crystallization
 Production of Aromatics

PAREX
Process
Production of Unsaturated HCs

Ethane-Propane Cracker
Production of Unsaturated HCs

Heavy liquids cracker

 PETROCHEMICALS
Primary Petrochemicals

• Olefins (ethylene, propylene and butadiene)

• Aromatics (benzene, toluene, and xylenes)
• Methanol
 PETROCHEMICALS
Intermediates and Derivatives
• Petrochemical intermediates are generally produced by
chemical conversion of primary petrochemicals to form
more complicated derivative products

Petrochemical derivative products can be made in a

variety of ways:
1. Directly from primary petrochemicals
2. Through intermediate products which still contain only
carbon and hydrogen
3. Through intermediates which incorporate chlorine,
nitrogen or oxygen in the finished derivative.
 PETROCHEMICALS
Some typical petrochemical intermediates are:

• vinyl acetate for paint, paper and textile coatings

• vinyl chloride for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin
manufacture
• ethylene glycol for polyester textile fibres
• styrene which is important in rubber and plastic
manufacturing
Petrochemical products
 Petrochemical products
• Petrochemical products are made from hydrocarbon
feedstocks through numerous processes and
transformations.

• Crude oil and natural gas serve as the feedstocks for

petrochemical building blocks

• These building blocks, in turn, are converted into a

wide array of chemical products known as
intermediates

• The intermediates are processed into plastics and

resins which, when molded, shaped and/or reformed
end up as consumer products.
Petrochemical products
THANK YOU