Petrochemicals

The term ‘petrochemicals’ refers to a variety of products that are derived from petroleum. We use a whole host of products and items created from petrochemicals everyday without a second thought to their origins and many people to not realise how widespread the use of petrochemicals is in modern society.

Nearly all plastics are manufactured from or at least using petrochemicals. Considering how incredibly prevalent plastics are in everyday life can give you an idea of just how important the petrochemicals industry is. Modern plastics are used to make a huge variety of products ranging from food package to man made fibred such as nylon. Nearly all modern plastics are created from petrochemicals.

A great deal of petrochemicals are created from the by products produced by the fractional distillation of crude oil, which is used to extract petroleum from the crude oil drilled from the ground. The petrochemicals obtained in this manner are frequently used to create a variety of oils and lubricants used for machinery and engines. Tars and asphalt which is used heavily by the road building industry is also produced from the petrochemicals and by products obtained from crude oil.

There are many thousands of different uses for petrochemicals and they are the basis for many of the products we use and take for granted everyday. However, particularly in recent years, the high levels of pollution caused by the petrochemicals industry has been in the spotlight due to concerns over climate change.