149
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Pant et al. (eds.), Catalysis for Clean Energy and Environmental
Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65021-6_5
C3-Based Petrochemicals: Recent
Advances in Processes and Catalysts
Chanchal Samanta and Raj Kumar Das
Abstract The petrochemical and chemical industries are key enablers of modern
societies. Transportation, construction, packaging, food processing, textile, water
distribution, medical equipment, and in various other sectors petrochemicals and
chemicals are used in making products for improving the quality of our modern living. Among the major five types of feedstocks (as listed below), light olefins are the
most important chemical building blocks for the production of the various downstream petrochemicals.
• Light olefins: ethylene and propylene
• C 4 hydrocarbons: Butanes, butenes, butadiene
• Aromatics: Benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX)
• Long-chain n-paraffin: Kerosene-derived C 9 -C 17 paraffins
• Syngas: a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen
Ethylene and propylene are two major light olefins, used as key petrochemical
building blocks. Ethylene is used in the production of polyethylene, ethylene chloride, ethylene oxide, etc. These products are used in the construction and packaging,
plastic processing, and textile industries, to name just a few examples. Similarly,
propylene, the simplest C 3 olefin, is used in making a number of useful derivatives
such as polypropylene, propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, cumene, isopropanol, etc. The global propylene demand was around 100 MMTA (million metric
tons per annum) in 2015 which is expected to increase at a 3.6% CAGR (compound
annual growth rate) to more than 140 MMTA by 2025 due to wider applications of
the propylene derivatives in the consumer market. For instance, polypropylene, a
key derivative of propylene, is one of the best-selling plastics, extensively used in
automobiles and in the manufacturing of packaging films. Acrylonitrile, another
propylene derivative, is used in making acrylic fibers and coatings. Similarly, propylene oxide is used extensively for the manufacturing of polyurethanes and other
chemicals, acrylic acid and oxo alcohols are employed in PVC plasticizers and
coatings- based applications, cumene is used to make epoxy resins and polycarbonate, and isopropyl alcohol is used as solvent, and so on. Not only plastic processing,
C. Samanta (*) · R. K. Das
Corporate R&D Centre, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited,
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: chanchalsamanta@bharatpetroleum.in; rajkumardas001@bharatpetroleum.in
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
K. K. Pant et al. (eds.), Catalysis for Clean Energy and Environmental
Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65021-6_5
C3-Based Petrochemicals: Recent
Advances in Processes and Catalysts
Chanchal Samanta and Raj Kumar Das
Abstract The petrochemical and chemical industries are key enablers of modern
societies. Transportation, construction, packaging, food processing, textile, water
distribution, medical equipment, and in various other sectors petrochemicals and
chemicals are used in making products for improving the quality of our modern living. Among the major five types of feedstocks (as listed below), light olefins are the
most important chemical building blocks for the production of the various downstream petrochemicals.
• Light olefins: ethylene and propylene
• C 4 hydrocarbons: Butanes, butenes, butadiene
• Aromatics: Benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX)
• Long-chain n-paraffin: Kerosene-derived C 9 -C 17 paraffins
• Syngas: a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen
Ethylene and propylene are two major light olefins, used as key petrochemical
building blocks. Ethylene is used in the production of polyethylene, ethylene chloride, ethylene oxide, etc. These products are used in the construction and packaging,
plastic processing, and textile industries, to name just a few examples. Similarly,
propylene, the simplest C 3 olefin, is used in making a number of useful derivatives
such as polypropylene, propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, cumene, isopropanol, etc. The global propylene demand was around 100 MMTA (million metric
tons per annum) in 2015 which is expected to increase at a 3.6% CAGR (compound
annual growth rate) to more than 140 MMTA by 2025 due to wider applications of
the propylene derivatives in the consumer market. For instance, polypropylene, a
key derivative of propylene, is one of the best-selling plastics, extensively used in
automobiles and in the manufacturing of packaging films. Acrylonitrile, another
propylene derivative, is used in making acrylic fibers and coatings. Similarly, propylene oxide is used extensively for the manufacturing of polyurethanes and other
chemicals, acrylic acid and oxo alcohols are employed in PVC plasticizers and
coatings- based applications, cumene is used to make epoxy resins and polycarbonate, and isopropyl alcohol is used as solvent, and so on. Not only plastic processing,
C. Samanta (*) · R. K. Das
Corporate R&D Centre, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited,
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: chanchalsamanta@bharatpetroleum.in; rajkumardas001@bharatpetroleum.in