A Day Without Chemistry

Organic Chemistry and Petrochemicals

You really have to sit back and wonder what would the world be like if organic chemistry did not exist? How big would the impact be if organic molecules were not discovered?

When you do seriously think about it, then you would have to take away all the various forms of rubber, vitamins, cloth and paper made from organically based compounds. Aspirins and all other types of drugs, preservatives that keep food from spoiling, perfumes and toiletries, dyes and food flavourings. None of these would exist if it wasn’t for the miracle of organic chemistry.

Synthetic Fibers such as nylon (used in a wide range, all the way from toothbrushes to parachutes) would be unheard of it were not for the enormous progress made by organic chemistry. The same is true of plastics or polymers in general, which have literally hundreds upon hundreds of applications. It is virtually impossible for a person in the twenty-first century to spend an entire day without coming into contact with at least one, and more likely, dozens of plastic products. Car parts, toy, computer housing, Velcro Fasteners, PVC plumbing pipes, and many more fixtures of modern life are all made possible by plastics and polymers.

Then there is a vast array of petrochemicals that power modern civilization, Best-known among these is petrol, but there is also coal, still one of the most significant fuels used in electrical power plants, as well as natural gas and various other forms of oil used either directly or indirectly in providing heat, light, and electric power to homes. But the applications of petrochemicals extends far beyond their usage for fuel.

e.g - The roofing materials and tar that keeps a roof over a person’s head, protecting them from sun and rain, are the product of petrochemicals. And ultimately, organic chemistry.

Petrochemicals are simple derivatives of petroleum, itself a mixture of alkanes and alkenes, as well as aromatic hydrocarbons. Through a process known as fractional distillation, the petrochemicals of the lowest molecular mass boil off first, and those having higher mass separate at higher temperatures.

Among the products derived from the fractional distillation of petroleum are the following, listed from the lowest temperature range to the highest: natural gas; petroleum ether, a solvent; naphtha, a solvent (used for example in paint thinner); gasoline; kerosene; fuel for heating and diesel fuel; lubricating oils; petroleum jelly; paraffin wax; and pitch, or tar. A host of other organic chemicals, including various drugs, plastics, paints, adhesives, fibers, detergents, synthetic rubber, and agricultural chemicals, owe their existence to petrochemicals.

Obviously, petroleum is not just for making gasoline, though of course this is the first product people think of when they hear the word "petroleum." Not all hydrocarbons in gasoline are desirable. Straight-chain or normal heptane, for instance, does not fire smoothly in an internal-combustion engine, and therefore disrupts the engine's rhythm. For this reason, it is given a rating of zero on a scale of desirability, while octane has a rating of 100. This is why gas stations list octane ratings at the pump: the higher the presence of octane, the better the gas is for one's automobile.

And if petroleum did not exist, we wouldn't even have bothered with the modern invention of the automobile. Transportation would thus be much difficult, we would have to use donkey carts. All of these millions of miles worth of travel made possible only by a hydrocarbon, and by extension, all of organic chemistry.