DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

The answer is petroleum. All of them use byproducts of petroleum. And as petroleum reserves deplete, the hunt is on for replacements.

Think petroleum and what comes to mind is petrol, kerosene, and diesel. Maybe some of us are reminded of bitumen, the dark substance that comes in ugly drums and is used to tar roads. But no one is likely to think of cheese, chocolate, fertilizers, lipstick, perfumes, or other beauty products. Truth is, all of them use some byproduct of petroleum. And as available petroleum stocks get used up and global oil prices swing to the extremes, it is time to start the search for alternatives not just to fuel, but also for all of these industries.

This piece is an overview of the various industries that use petroleum byproducts. In a later piece we will look at the opportunities in the alternatives.

The process
Crude oil, as extracted from oil fields, is separated into various products through fractional distillation in refineries. The lighter products — gases, naphtha, and gasoline (petrol) — are recovered at the lowest temperatures (20 to 200 °C). Middle distillates — jet fuel, kerosene, home heating oil and diesel fuel — come next (200 to 370 °C). Finally, the heaviest products (residuum or residual fuel oil) are recovered, normally at temperatures above 400 °C. Heavy products include waxes, lubricants, and asphalt. These are processed further and modified with certain additives to manufacture lubricating oil, petroleum coke, petrochemicals of various types, and also to obtain elemental sulphur.

Lubricants
Lubricant industry is quite big and independent in itself. According to a lubricant industry book Lubricants and Lubrication, the segment is dominated by vertically integrated companies whose main business is the discovery, exploration, and refining of crude oil. Even in India the oil PSUs – Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum – used to dominate lubricant industry till 1991, when India embraced liberalization, and private players made an entry. The Indian lubricant industry, the sixth largest in the world, is worth over Rs. 80 billion, and is growing at a rate of 4 to 5 percent annually.

Petrochemicals – a huge sector
The enormousness of the sector can be gauged merely by knowing there are over 4,000 petrochemicals that can be synthesized from petroleum. Petrochemicals can be traced in varying quantities in items like credit cards, balloons, sunglasses, curtains, food stuff, and even in fertilizers, pesticides, plastics, and perfumes.

Fertilizers
Fertilizers form a major petrochemical industry, with some 57 public sector and 65 private sector units actively involved in manufacturing fertilizers in India alone - IFFCO being the largest player. Natural gas or naphtha has been used as main feedstock for nitrogenous fertilizer units. Ammonia is produced by burning natural gas or naphtha. It is used as a fertilizer, and is also converted into rich nitrogenous fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, and mixed with phosphate to produce ammonium phosphate.

Government has demarcated fertilizer as a top priority sector when it comes to allocating this feedstock. Government subsidy on fertilizers has reached a whopping Rs1,00,000 crore.

Pesticides
Petroleum is an important ingredient in pesticides also. Pesticides, which include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, nematocides, and rodenticides, consist of an active ingredient coupled with inert ingredients. The active ingredient kills the pests, while the inert ingredients facilitate spraying and coating the target plant. Active ingredients, which are hydrocarbons derived from petroleum, are largely synthesized in a laboratory through complex chemical processes. Inert ingredients can be many substances depending on the type of pesticide. Liquid pesticides have traditionally used kerosene as a carrier, though water has recently begun to replace it.

Most large pesticide manufacturers have highly developed quality control laboratories that test each pesticide for potency, emulsification, density, color, pH, particle size (if a dust), and suspension (if a liquid). There are over 400 manufacturers of pesticides in India, a number of which are in the small-scale sector selling their products essentially on regional basis. India produces 16 percent of the world’s food grain, but uses less than 2 percent pesticides globally.

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salvage buyers
written by D.K.MONGA, June 20, 2011

all types salvage all over india

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shopping
written by wholesale homme neckties, February 28, 2011

enjoyed reading your article. I think many people are coming to
I totally agree with you !!!!

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Light Liquid Paraffin
written by Rahul Jain, January 10, 2010

Is all light liquid paraffin eatable?

What is the difference between Light Liquid Paraffin used in Cometics and Chocolate, because acc to my knowledge, intake of any petroleum product is harmful or hazardous to human body

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clarification
written by Bhuvan, April 23, 2009

Although there is some truth in the Paraffin used in food item...but i will like to clarify that chocolates and candy are two different products.

Chocolate are made from cocoa beans and candy are made from sugar and other sweet stuff.

I am sure if you do your research on chocolate industry you will know what is used in quality chocolate bars.

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