Hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas

Polymers. Hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas serve as the raw material for virtually all polymeric materials commonly found in commerce, with the notable exception of rayon which is derived from cellulose extracted from wood pulp. Even with rayon, however, the cellulose is treated with acetic acid (qv), much of which is manufactured from ethylene (see Fibers, regenerated cellulosics). 

Dihydrogen is an important industrial chemical, mostly made from the steam reforming of hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas. The simplest of these reactions,... 

Basic Research on Hydrocarbons From Petroleum and Natural Gas... 

MILLER—BASIC RESEARCH ON HYDROCARBONS FROM PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS... 

It should be emphasized that the development of separation processes has, to a large extent, made possible production of the hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas. Large volumes of many of these hydrocarbons are naturally present in the raw materials or in the gases produced by refining operations, and separation is the only problem. For those hydrocarbons requiring special manufacturing processes such as benzene and acetylene, processes for purification are also necessary. Separation process articles are listed under Separation Processes in the bibliography except for those articles which relate to only one compound. 

The types of information on hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas vary widely. The patent literature on manufacture and separation of the hydrocarbons is voluminous. Articles in chemical, engineering, and oil journals include reviews, descriptions of processes, descriptions of entire plants, discussions of construction materials for these plants, discussions of the adaptation of conventional facilities for production of specific hydrocarbons, discussions of utilization, enumeration of plants operating, analyses of present requirements, and predictions of future demands. Many of these journals also publish news items announcing the availability of new hydrocarbons and the construction of new plants. Recently a number of journals have established the practice of publishing staff reports on a specific product or group of products. These give the present status... 

The principal journals in which information on the commercial production of hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas is found include Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Progress, Chemical and Engineering News, Chemical Week, Petroleum Processing, Petroleum Refiner, Oil and Gas Journal, and Petroleum Engineer. 

The Oil and Gas Journal carries a process section in its Annual Refinery Number under the Annual Refining Section-Processing Details. Most of the processes in current use can be found in these special sections. The Oil and Gas Journal has recently been carrying a special type of article called Petrochem Report which usually gives a timely discussion of specific commercial plants. In the Petroleum Engineer, articles on hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas are found under Section C, Refining and Gas Processing. This journal publishes a Reference Annual which usually contains more technical articles on hydrocarbon production than do other issues. 

Because of the relative newness of the petrochemical industry, very few books have been published which have chapters on the commercial development of hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas. A list of miscellaneous books and pamphlets of interest is given in the bibliography. 

FIGURE 14.1 Hydrocarbons from petroleum and natural gas as raw materials. Catalytic cracking produces ethylene, butylene, acetylene, and propylene, which are converted Into other chemical raw materials and many kinds of consumer products. 

---