28.04.2014 - Petrochemical industry in a state of high flux
In the 19th century, chemicals production depended largely on coal processing. But the increasing availability of petroleum and gas drove the industry into “petrochemicals”, a term that was first used in 1942 to distinguish its products from those obtained from coal. The need for materials to conduct the Second World War drove Germany in 1940, followed by others, to produce synthetic rubber from petroleum fractions. The simpler and less expensive processes made manufacturers shift from coal to the new, flexible and inexpensive oil or gas feedstock...............................................Full Article: Source
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