AIR POLLUTION IN THE CHEMICAL PROCESS INDUSTRIES

NATURAL GAS AND CRUDE DISTILLATES

Natural gas and crude distillates such as naphtha from petroleum refigare used as feedstocks to manufacture a wide range of petrochemicals that are in turn used in the manufacture of consumer goods. Basic petrochemicals are manufactured by cracking, reforming, and other processes, and include olefins (such as ethylene, propylene, butylenes, and butadiene) and aromatics (such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes). The capacity of naphtha crackers is generally of the order of 250,000 to 750,000 metric tons per year (tpy) of ethylene production. Some petrochemical plants also have alcohol and oxo-compound manufacturing units on site. The base petrochemicals or products derived from them, along with other raw materials, are converted to a wide range of products.