In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how petrochemical products—used in every aspect of our lives—are made and utilized.
Cell phones, computers, backpacks, watches, windows, headsets, chairs, desks, air conditioners, and light bulbs. These are all items surrounding me right now. It goes without saying, but all of these diverse items are manufactured and assembled in factories. However, there is one common element found in all of these products: petrochemical products. Petrochemical products refer to the various chemical products derived from crude oil. Cell phones and computers use displays and various plastic materials, and backpacks, watches, headsets, and chairs also utilize a variety of plastics. Even the clothes I’m wearing right now contain petrochemical products like polyester. In this way, crude oil imported from the Middle East and other regions is used not only as fuel for cars, ships, airplanes, and boilers but also as a raw material for making the various products around us. In chemical and biological engineering, you can learn how these petrochemical products are actually produced.
Crude oil transported by ship from the Middle East and other regions is moved from oil tankers to factories via pipelines and first enters a distillation tower. Crude oil actually looks somewhat different from the oil we commonly imagine. When extracted from the ground, crude oil appears as a single, highly viscous, black substance resembling mud. However, crude oil contains a mixture of various components, and by separating them, we can obtain the specific substances we need. The distillation tower is where this separation process first takes place; it uses differences in boiling points to separate the crude oil—a mixture of various substances—into its individual components. Among the separated components, the heaviest is primarily used as road paving material, such as asphalt, while the lightest becomes LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) in its gaseous state. Additionally, a relatively light substance that remains liquid at room temperature is called naphtha; most petrochemical products today are produced using naphtha as the main raw material.
It is easy to simplistically assume that feeding naphtha into various reactions will yield the desired products. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the process of manufacturing petrochemical products is by no means simple. First and foremost, thorough research is required to determine which process can be used to produce the desired substance. This process involves examining numerous conditions, such as which reactants to use, what catalyst will promote the reaction, and what levels of pressure and temperature are required. Developing even a single reaction process requires extensive research and considerable effort. Additionally, a reactor suitable for these reaction conditions must be designed. The type of reactor must also be determined based on the characteristics and conditions of the reaction, and the list of factors to consider—such as how much material to feed into the reactor and at what rate—continues to grow. Furthermore, the desired substances are rarely produced through a single process alone. A plant must be designed by taking into account numerous facilities collectively—including various types of reactors, interconnected processes, and separation equipment to isolate the desired substance from other components. Finally, the most critical step is to assess whether constructing and operating the plant based on these processes will yield economic returns that exceed the initial investment. In chemical and biological engineering, students learn all these processes and also visit actual petrochemical complexes to observe production processes firsthand.
Countless products we use in our daily lives contain petrochemical products. Although recent efforts to reduce petroleum use have been ongoing due to concerns about carbon neutrality, environmental issues, and plastic waste, petrochemical products still play a vital role in today’s industry and daily life. While the use of recycling technologies, eco-friendly processes, and bio-based raw materials is expected to expand in the future, the petrochemical industry remains one of the core industries underpinning modern society. In the field of chemical and biological engineering, students can directly learn about and experience the process through which crude oil undergoes this remarkable transformation.
