Fossil resources manufacturing requirements

In 1978, Irving S. Shapiro, chairman at that time of one of the world s largest chemical companies, E. I. duPont de Nemours Company, stated Energy requirements beyond the year 2000 indicate a need to turn to fusion and to extensive use of solar energy and biomass, to reduce demands on fossil resources. It is assumed that by then the chemical industry will be drawing more on coal as the initial source of its hydrocarbons, and less on what remains of the oil and natural gas. The key word here is hydrocarbons. As shown in this chapter, hydrocarbon feedstocks are not essential for the manufacture of organic chemicals. 

Fossil based raw materials, mainly oil, gas and occasionally coal, are used almost exclusively for the manufacture of monomers. Plant materials, the so-called renewable resources, have been used earlier and could become more significant once again in the future. Although the plastics in these cases are obtained by direct polymerization of their monomers, the synthesis of the monomers themselves often requires several intermediate steps. The multi-functional multiple intermediate compounds in the plastic synthesis steps cannot be clearly defined as monomers in every case. The poly-con-... 

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