Process Technology: An Introduction - Haan A.B. 2015

1 The chemical industry
1.3 Major raw materials

Inorganic chemicals are derived from many different sources. In contrast the production of organic chemicals is almost entirely based on two raw material sources: crude oil and natural gas. At present more than 90 % (by tonnage) of all commercially important organic chemicals are produced from crude oil and natural gas via a multitude of petrochemical processes. Compared to crude oil, natural gas is less versatile, because carbon-carbon bonds have to be built up. Apart from crude oil and natural gas, other raw materials are used on a smaller scale, such as fatty oils, starch, sugar and molasses, wood, and straw.

The inorganic chemical industry is based on a large variety of minerals, air, and water. Minerals are converted into products like building materials and pigments. There is, however, a group of raw materials from which a limited number of rather important inorganic intermediates is made. Perhaps the most notable example is sulfur. Substantial quantities of sulfur are also removed and recovered from natural gas and crude oil. Over 80 % of all sulfur is converted into sulfuric acid, and approximately half of this is then used in the manufacture of fertilizers. Sulfuric acid is the most important chemical of all in tonnage terms. Other important examples are air, the source of oxygen and nitrogen, and sodium chloride, the starting material for caustic soda and chlorine.