What in simple terms are petrochemicals?
Petrochemicals are chemicals made from petroleum (crude oil) and natural gas. A broader definition for petrochemicals would include: Petrochemicals are organic and inorganic compounds and mixtures that include but are not limited to organic chemicals, cyclic intermediates, plastics and resins, synthetic fibers, elastomers, organic dyes, organic pigments, detergents, surface active agents, carbon black, and ammonia.
VERY LONG EXPLANARION!–!ha! Petrochemical Any of the chemicals derived from petroleum or natural gas. The definition of petrochemicals has been broadened to include the whole range of aliphatic, aromatic, and naphthenic organic chemicals, as well as carbon black and such inorganic materials as sulfur and ammonia. Petrochemicals are made or recovered from the entire range of petroleum fractions, but the bulk of petrochemical products are formed from the lighter (C1–C4) hydrocarbon gases as raw materials. These materials generally occur in natural gas, but they are also recovered from the gas streams produced during refinery operations, especially cracking. Refinery gases are particularly valuable because they contain substantial amounts of olefins that, because of their double bonds, are much more reactive then the saturated (paraffin) hydrocarbons.
Chemicals where the major feedstock is fossil fuel, or other petrochemicals (petro means rock, so sort of implies “fossil”) Coal is hardly ever used a feedstock for chemical processing, although much of the same chemical processing can be done to it. Feedstock is usually oil, so petrochemicals mainly come from oil.
