If you control oil, you control all countries, "said former US Secretary of State Kissinger, highlighting the importance of oil. What makes the petrochemical industry in such an important position? What is the circular economy of the petrochemical industry? Let's uncover the answers from dimensions such as resource extraction, commodity production, and waste resource recycling.

Oil is known as "black gold"

Oil is a brown black flammable viscous liquid extracted from deep underground, earning the reputation of "black gold". Petroleum is mainly composed of various alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatic hydrocarbons, among which the main component is alkanes. In addition, it also contains elements such as sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, and vanadium metal.

There are several different theories about the formation of oil, and most geologists believe that oil is gradually formed by decaying organic matter (animal carcasses or plants) after being compressed and heated over a long period of time. For example, offshore oil fields are composed of marine animals and algae bodies mixed with sludge, buried under thick sedimentary rock, gradually transformed through long-term high-temperature and high-pressure continuous action, and finally degenerated into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, which continue to penetrate into the surrounding rock layers with many gaps, and gather together to form an oil field.

New microbial oil recovery technology will not cause environmental pollution

If you have the opportunity to sail on the sea, you may be able to see oil drilling platforms from afar, which is equipment for using drilling rigs with hollow drill strings and drill bits to extract underwater oil layers; In addition, there is a new type of offshore oil exploration and development drillship, which brings us more convenience in exploring offshore oil.

To improve oil recovery efficiency, oilfield workers usually take various measures, such as injecting water or natural gas into the oil well; Pressing boiling water or high-temperature water vapor, or even burning some underground oil, or injecting nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or light gasoline to reduce the viscosity of oil. Nowadays, it is possible to inject microbial bacterial or nutrient solutions isolated and cultivated on the ground into oil reservoirs. This new microbial oil recovery technology has the advantages of high efficiency, low energy consumption, and low cost compared to other methods, and more importantly, it will not cause environmental pollution.

More than 90% of daily necessities are made from petroleum processed products

Directly extracted unprocessed crude oil contains various impurities such as water, salt, and sediment. If not removed, it will directly affect subsequent processing and increase unnecessary costs; There are also compounds containing sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen that have a significant impact on the performance of petroleum products, and special catalysts or microbial methods must be used to remove them in petroleum processing.

In recent years, scientists have discovered a new type of desulfurization bacteria that can desulfurize to the extent of one millionth, which is surprising. With the rapid development of science and technology, environmental protection has also received increasing attention, and the adoption of these green methods in the oil processing process is gratifying. After dehydration, desulfurization, and other treatments, crude oil is transported to a refinery for processing. According to the principle of different boiling points, different petroleum products are obtained through evaporation or reaction.

More than 90% of the items needed in people's daily lives are made from petroleum processed products. It is no exaggeration to say that when the oil runs out one day, most of the goods around us will not be able to be produced smoothly without new alternative products, no energy for combustion, no plastic rubber, no shampoo and soap, no car tires... The civilization of human society will be completely changed, as if returning to the Primitive Society.

The extraction, processing, and utilization of oil have accelerated the modernization process, greatly improved people's work efficiency, and brought great convenience to people's lives. The production of various fuels such as gasoline and diesel accounts for approximately 90% of the total production of petroleum products. Vehicles running on the road, ships sailing at sea, airplanes flying in the sky, and without the fuel powered engines provided by oil, can only be a pile of scrap steel lying motionless on the ground. Without these transportation tools to play a transportation role, the entire social economy will be paralyzed.

Carbon dioxide emissions from petroleum combustion can turn waste into treasure

While oil brings us many conveniences, it also brings some environmental problems, such as the "greenhouse effect" caused by the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere after the combustion of oil. But is the waste gas generated after the combustion of oil useless?

The carbon dioxide emitted after the combustion of oil can also be turned into waste, recycled, and turned back into useful things in our lives. In 2011, Germany launched the world's first carbon dioxide synthesis polyester material project, using special catalysts to synthesize polyester polycarbonate from carbon dioxide and polyols. The required carbon dioxide was supplied through nearby coal power plants.

This is such a wonderful cycle. The power plant burns coal to provide us with electricity, and the emitted carbon dioxide is recycled to the processing plant through special collection devices, which are processed into useful products without causing any additional burden on the environment. This is the green petrochemical industry circular economy.