petrochemical

(noun)

chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane.

Related Terms

Examples of petrochemical in the following topics:

  • Chemical Manufacturing

    • The raw starting materials are commonly from petrochemical sources (fractional distillation of crude oil produces a wide variety of valuable materials for the chemical industry) or can be extracted from nature.
    • Basic chemicals, or "commodity chemicals" are a broad chemical category including polymers, bulk petrochemicals and intermediates, other derivatives and basic industrials, inorganic chemicals, and fertilizers.
    • The majority of the raw materials for polymers come from petrochemical sources, or crude oil fractionation.

  • Hydrogenation

    • In petrochemical processes, hydrogenation is used to saturate alkenes and aromatics, making them less toxic and reactive.

  • Trihalides: Boron-Halogen Compounds

    • Boron trifluoride is used in the petrochemical industry as a catalyst.

  • Types of Synthetic Organic Polymers

    • Polystyrene (PS) is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid petrochemical.