Turning chemicals into useful end products

In order to appreciate the downstream processing and technology, let us take as an example polyvinyl acetate and one of its applications as a binder in 

The story starts with crude oil or natural gas fractions, e.g. naphtha, which are cracked to give principally ethylene. The ethylene is then reacted with acetic acid and oxygen over a supported palladium catalyst to produce the vinyl acetate (see section 12.7.4). Finally this is polymerized to polyvinyl acetate which is then mixed with the other ingredients to produce the emulsion paint. 

The above examples teach us an important lesson although it is the chemists who make and discover the new chemicals which may have special properties, a considerable input from engineers and technologists may be required before the chemical can be processed and converted into a suitable form in which it can be used. This emphasizes an important aspect of research and technology in the chemical industry, namely the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork. 

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