Ethanol:The Renewable Naphtha

摘要

The commercial use of oil， which began in the second part of the nineteenth century， provided the world with new forms of energy， but also delivered a feedstock that made the modern chemical industry possible.The chemical industry predates the oil industry， but it is the development of industrial organic chemistry， made possible by abundant hydrocarbons， that made the modern chemical industry we know today.The impact of the chemical industry on society cannot be overstated.For example， only the incredibly rich would be able to afford anything more than occasional use of fabrics of vibrant and varied colors， as dyes previously were exclusively of vegetable and animal origin.The almost infinitely wide variety of materials， coatings， fibers and detergents available today， with their even more significant number of applications and astonishing performance， would have been unimaginable in the world before oil.Surprisingly， given all the diversity in appearance， properties and applications， virtually all of the organic chemical industry output comes from a handful of base chemicals-methane， ethylene， propylene， butylene， and the aromatics benzene， toluene and xylene.With the exception of methane， all these chemicals are derived from a crude oil fraction:naphtha.Naphtha is one of the lighter fractions of oil and a precursor of gasoline.In fact， in the early days of the internal combustion engine， straight naphtha was used as a fuel.While some of these base chemicals can come from other sources， naphtha remains a critical feedstock for the chemical industry and in the oil value chain.