Plastics manufacturing, chemicals used petroleum

About 60 percent of the sulfuric acid in turn is used for agricultural purposes, mainly in phosphoric acid production, and intermediate in fertilizer manufacture. Another important use of sulfuric acid is in petroleum refining. Chemical uses, including plastics, paper and paint, account for 8 percent of sulfur production, sulfuric acid again being a major outlet. Ferrous and non-ferrous metal production consumes 8 percent and miscellaneous uses add up to 18 percent. 

Naphthalene, also known as tar camphor, and its alkyl derivatives, such as l-(2-propyl)naph-thalene (Figure 13.10), are important industrial chemicals. Used to make mothballs, naphthalene is a volatile white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor. Coal tar and petroleum are the major sources of naphthalene. Numerous industrial chemical derivatives are manufactured from it. The most important of these is phthalic anhydride (Figure 13.10), used to make phthalic acid plasticizers, which are discussed in Chapter 14. 

Most of the sulfur currently used is burnt to form sulfur dioxide for the use in the pulp and paper industry, for bleaching, and for conversion to sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is generally considered to be the most important manufactured chemical. Compormds of sulfur have many commercial uses, for example, in the manufacture of chemicals, textiles, soaps, fertilizers, leather, plastics, refrigerants, bleaching agents, drugs, dyes, paints, paper, refined petroleum, and other products. 

Cyclic Hydrocarbons. The cyclic hydrocarbon intermediates are derived principally from petroleum and natural gas, though small amounts are derived from coal. Most cycHc intermediates are used in the manufacture of more advanced synthetic organic chemicals and finished products such as dyes, medicinal chemicals, elastomers, pesticides, and plastics and resins. Table 6 details the production and sales of cycHc intermediates in 1991. Benzene (qv) is the largest volume aromatic compound used in the chemical industry. It is extracted from catalytic reformates in refineries, and is produced by the dealkylation of toluene (qv) (see also BTX Processing). 

Petrochemicals in general are compounds and polymers derived directly or indirectly from petroleum and used in the chemical market. Among the major petrochemical products are plastics, synthetic fibers, synthetic ruhher, detergents, and nitrogen fertilizers. Many other important chemical industries such as paints, adhesives, aerosols, insecticides, and pharmaceuticals may involve one or more petrochemical products within their manufacturing steps. 

Sulfur displays rich and varied chemical behavior, but from the commercial standpoint, sulfuric acid dominates the chemistry of this element. Sulfuric acid is used in every major chemical-related industry fertilizers (60% of annual production), chemical manufacture (6%), petroleum refining (5%), metallurgy (5%), detergents, plastics,... 

Uses Manufacture of dye intermediates, fluorescent dyes, pharmaceuticals, photographic chemicals, insecticides, fungicides, plastics, and 1,8-naphthalic acid chemical research. Derived from coal tar and petroleum refining. 

Uses. Fertilizer refrigeration petroleum refining blue printing machines manufacture of fertilizers, nitric acid, explosives, plastics, and other chemicals... 

Uses. Fertilizer manufacturing metal cleaning manufacture of chemicals, plastics, and explosives petroleum refining pickling of metal... 

---