Feedstocks
The Petrochemical Industry is based on raw materials acquired from the energy industries, such as naphtha (derived from crude oil), natural gas liquids (extracted from natural gas), coal and renewable sources. Braskem has also developed a process based on ethanol, creating bio-based ethylene and green PE®.
Petrochemical Process
The feedstock goes through a steam cracker, where numerous basic petrochemicals are produced. These chemicals are either sold to other petrochemical companies or, to create more value, go through a process of polymerization in which they become thermoplastic resins
Thermoplastics Resins
Resins (PE+PP+PVC) are sold to converters, that transform them into finished products ready to be sold to the market and used in various sectors, such as: automobiles, civil construction, consumer goods, etc.
The petrochemical industry is based on molecules with carbon and hydrogen, which derived primarily from petroleum (crude oil) and gas. It is focused on the production of “building blocks”, which will be converted and will generate a large range of products. The primary sources of basic petrochemicals are coal, crude oil or petroleum, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. Each one has different origins and are related with different production processes.
The composition of the products depends crucially on the feedstock used: heavier feedstocks will produce more products than lighter feedstocks on steam crackers. Steam Cracking is one of the most important processes to produce petrochemicals and consist in breaking C-C or C-H bonds thermally or catalytically. Petrochemical products are base chemicals used to produce commodities and specialties to finally produce performance materials such as polymers, fibers, rubber, and etc.
