Plastics : Process of making plastic out of oil

Here's a simple but comprehensive breakdown of how oil becomes plastic:

Starting with Crude Oil:

• Crude oil is a complex mix of hydrocarbons
• Oil is heated in a refinery
• Different products separate based on weight/boiling point
• Naphtha is one of these products (like gasoline, diesel)

Hydrocarbons are compounds made only of hydrogen and carbon atoms. They are the basic building blocks for plastics and many other materials.

Making Basic Building Blocks (Cracking):

• Naphtha is heated super hot (800°C+)
• Large molecules break into smaller ones
• Creates monomers like ethylene and propylene
• Think of it like breaking big Lego pieces into single blocks

Creating Plastic Molecules (Polymerization):

• Monomers are linked together in long chains
• Different conditions create different plastics
• Like connecting those single Legos into long chains

Examples:

• Ethylene → Polyethylene (PE)
• Propylene → Polypropylene (PP)
• Making Raw Plastic (Compounding):
• Base plastic mixed with additives

Additives include:

• Colors
• UV protectors
• Strengtheners
• Heat stabilizers
• Plasticizers (increase the flexibility, workability, and elongation of plastics by reducing the intermolecular forces between polymer chains)

Form plastic into pellets (Granules) for easy handling

Final Processing:

• Pellets are melted
• Formed into products through
• Injection molding (like filling a mold)
• Extrusion (like squeezing toothpaste)
• Blow molding (like blowing up a balloon)
• Cooled to final shape

Creates different types of plastics for different uses:

• Bags and packaging (PE)
• Car parts (PP)
• Bottles (PET)
• Building materials (PVC)