A life-cycle inventory for the production of petrochemical intermediates in Europe : paraffins, olefins, benzene, ethylene and ethylene oxide

The resource requirements and environmental emissions involved in the production of n-paraffins, n-olefins, benzene, ethylene and ethylene oxide from petrochemical feedstocks are presented. The raw material requirements for the production of 1000 kg n-paraffins is 1079 kg of crude oil. Energy of Material Resource (47.4 GJ/1000 kg) accounts for 85 % of the total energy for the n-paraffins production, which is 55.6 GJ/1000 kg. 91% of this energy is supplied by crude oil. Fuel-related emissions account for 59% of solid waste which is 12 kg in total for 1000 kg of n-paraffins production. Emissions from the production and combustion of fuels account for most of the atmospheric emissions. In contrast, waterborne emissions arise in fairly similar amounts from both process and fuel-related sources. The raw material requirements for the production of 1000 kg n-olefins are 659 kg of crude oil and 537 kg of natural gas. Process energy accounts for 33.6% of the total energy for the n-olefins production, which is 88.4 GJ/1000kg. Natural gas with 58.4% and crude oil with 35.5% provide most of the energy requirements. Fuel-related emissions account for 84.9 % of the total solid waste, which is 59.9 kg/1000 kg of n-olefins production. Emissions from the production and combustion of fuels account for the majority of atmospheric emissions. In contrast, the process accounts for most of the waterborne emissions. The raw material requirement for the production of 1000 kg of benzene is 1136 kg of crude oil. The Energy of Material Resource accounts for 80.1% of the total energy for the benzene production, which is 62.3 GJ/1000 kg. 85.2 % of the total energy is provided by crude oil. Fuel-related emissions account for 70 % of the total solid waste, which is 15.6 kg/1000 kg of benzene production. Emissions form the production process of benzene account for most of the atmospheric and waterborne emissions. For ethylene, which is mainly produced from crude oil and natural gas, the Energy of Material Resource (56.3 GJ/1000 kg) represents 79 % of the total energy requirements for the product (70.9 GJ/1000 kg) and is provided by natural gas (44%) and crude oil (56%). Most of the atmospheric emissions arise from the production and consumption of fuels, although 40 % of the fossil carbon dioxide emissions are process-related. 77% of the solid waste is fuel-related. Most the waterborne waste arises from process emissions. A comparison of this study with a publication from the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe shows close similarity with regards to energy and raw material use. For ethylene oxide, the Energy of Material Resource (45.3 GJ) accounts for 70% of the total energy requirement and is mainly provided by crude oil (39%) and natural gas (31%). Most of the atmospheric emissions arise from the production and combustion of fuels but 55 % of the total organics and 48 % of the carbon dioxide are process-related. 87 % of the solid waste is fuel-related. The waterborne wastes are predominantly process-related.