Petroleum sources, synthetic

Polymers are an indispensable commodity within modern society that is found in all sectors of a consumer economy, such as materials, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Typically derived from nonrenewable petroleum sources, synthetic polymers account for 7% of the gas oil consumed [1]. As of 2013, total US demand for crude oil was approximately 1 bUhon metric tons per year [2], and as humankind enters the twenty-first century, the search for renewable energy and materials is at an all-time high. To solve this problem, efforts have been focused on utilizing available renewable feedstocks. 

Carboxylic acids having 6—24 carbon atoms are commonly known as fatty acids. Shorter-chain acids, such as formic, acetic, and propionic acid, are not classified as fatty acids and are produced synthetically from petroleum sources (see Acetic acid Formic acid and derivatives Oxo process). Fatty acids are produced primarily from natural fats and oils through a series of unit operations. Clay bleaching and acid washing are sometimes also included with the above operations in the manufacture of fatty acids for the removal of impurities prior to subsequent processing. 

Use varied - recreational (alcohol) to industrial, gasoline Source synthetic chemistry, petroleum products, plant oils Recommended daily intake none (not essential)... 

Benzene found in the environment is from both human activities and natural processes. Benzene was first discovered and isolated from coal tar in the 1800s. Today, benzene is made mostly from petroleum sources. Because of its wide use, benzene ranks in the top 20 in production volume for chemicals produced in the United States. Various industries use benzene to make other chemicals, such as styrene (for Styrofoam and other plastics), cumene (for various resins), and cyclohexane (for nylon and synthetic fibers). Benzene is also used for the manufacturing of some types of rubbers, lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. Natural sources of benzene, which include volcanoes and forest fires, also contribute to the presence of benzene in the environment. Benzene is also a part of crude oil and gasoline and cigarette smoke. For more information on the nature and uses of benzene, see Chapters 3 and 4. 

These processes for obtaining synthetic fuels were used by a number of countries during World War II. They are, however, uneconomical in most cases, because hydrogen and carbon monoxide in sufficient quantities must be obtained from coal or petroleum sources. Currently, South Africa, which has large coal reserves, makes the greatest use of Fischer-Tropsch reactions in the synthesis of fuels in its Sasol plants. 

There is a worldwide tendency to replace conventional soaps (made from fats and oils derived from animals and plants) with synthetic detergents (syndets) from petroleum sources. In developed countries syndets have replaced soaps to the extent of 70-80%. In India, the situation is nearly the reverse the total estimated production of soaps exceeds 700,000 tons, while that of syndets is only 100,000 tons. With the increasing demand for soap, the import of oils and fats tends to increase tremendously, affecting not only the soap industry but also the edible oils industry which is closely linked to it and also is subject to an ever-increasing demand (based on the improving standards of living and the increase in population—625 million in 1977). 

How far is one to go with regard to inclusion Some include plastics, synthetic rubber, and textiles, if made from petroleum sources. A recent letter from R. F. Goldstein... 

Table 11.8 contrasts the compositional differences between white mineral oils from petroleum sources and synthetic white oil, the latter being 100% branched... 

Tables. Fischer-Tropsch Plants. (Source Compiled fiom information Report on the Petroleum and Synthetic Oil Industry of Germany (London 1947) and High-Pressure Hydrogen at Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg, FIAT, Final Report...

FIG. 4. Liquid phase hydrogenation converters. Source Report on the petroleum and synthetic oil industry of Germany (London, 1947), 54. 

The industrial chemistry of the heterocyclic aromatics is extraordinarily diverse. A large number of mono- and polynuclear heterocyclics (vide infra) is present in coal tar and can be recovered from this source. Synthetic means of production, principally from petroleum-derived feedstocks have been added to the coal-derived raw materials since the fifties. 

Polymers or macromolecules are long-chain carbon-based organic molecules with their molar masses ranging from few thonsands to millions. These chains are made up of repeating fundamental molecnlar elements or monomers. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry gold book defines macromolecules as a molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetitive units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass. Polymers can be made from either natural or synthetic sources. Crude petroleum is a natural source of carbon, but is not in a renewable form. Most polymers that are used today are from nonrenewable petroleum sources. Polymers are broadly classified into natural, synthetic, and semisynthetic, and they are further subclassifled as shown in Fig. 3.1. 

Hence, the futnre prices of detergent range alcohols cannot be accurately predicted. The major difference between synthetic alcohols and alcohols derived from vegetable source lies in the fact that alcohols derived from natural sources would only be of straight chain, whereas the ones derived from synthetic (petroleum source) can be designed with branched structure. 

Another approach to the detection of adulteration has been to determine whether a pure chemical has been synthesized from petroleum-based chemicals or from recent plant metabolism [25]. AU recent plant tissues contain some C due to HU in the CO2 of the atmosphere (nuclear testing). The only way for a flavor compound to show no C is if it has been synthesized from petroleum sources. C has a half-life of about 5,730 years and thus is depleted in crude oil. An obvious weakness of this method is it does not distinguish synthetic chemicals made from plant starting materials from truly natural materials. 

The sulfate ester surfactants have attained their great technical importance based on several factors, including (1) good water solubility and surface activity, as well as reasonable chemical stability (2) a relatively simple synthetic pathway amenable to low-cost commercial production and (3) readily available starting materials from a number of agricultural and petroleum sources. 

Coal is used ia industry both as a fuel and ia much lower volume as a source of chemicals. In this respect it is like petroleum and natural gas whose consumption also is heavily dominated by fuel use. Coal was once the principal feedstock for chemical production, but ia the 1950s it became more economical to obtain most industrial chemicals from petroleum and gas. Nevertheless, certain chemicals continue to be obtained from coal by traditional routes, and an interest in coal-based chemicals has been maintained in academic and industrial research laboratories. Much of the recent activity in coal conversion has been focused on production of synthetic fuels, but significant progress also has been made on use of coal as a chemical feedstock (see Coal CONVERSION processes). 

Since 1960, about 95% of the synthetic ammonia made in the United States has been made from natural gas worldwide the proportion is about 85%. Most of the balance is made from naphtha and other petroleum Hquids. Relatively small amounts of ammonia are made from hydrogen recovered from coke oven and refinery gases, from electrolysis of salt solutions, eg, caustic chlorine production, and by electrolysis of water. In addition there are about 20 ammonia plants worldwide that use coal as a hydrogen source. 

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