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Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum (hydrocarbon) origin. The two main classes of raw materials are olefins (including ethylene and propylene) and aromatics (including benzene and xylene isomers), both of which are produced in very large quantities, mainly by the steam cracking and catalytic reforming of refinery hydrocarbons. From these basic building blocks are made a very wide range of raw materials used in industry - plastics, resins, fibres, solvents, detergents, etc. World production of ethylene is around 110 million tonnes per annum, of propylene 65 million tonnes and of aromatic raw materials 70 million tonnes. The largest petrochemical industries are to be found in the USA and Western Europe, though the major growth in new production capacity is in the Middle East and Asia. There is a substantial inter-regional trade in petrochemicals of all kinds. The following is a partial list of the major commercial petrochemicals and their derivatives:
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