Thread Content
Petroleum refining and the chemical industry that uses petroleum and natural gas as raw materials are collectively referred to as the petrochemical industry; it is a continuation of the oil and gas mining industry, hence only a brief introduction is provided. Petroleum refining is the process of processing crude oil through operations such as vacuum distillation, catalytic cracking, hydrorefining, cryogenic dewaxing, and catalytic reforming, in order to produce fuel products like gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and lubricating oils, as well as other products such as petroleum gases, benzene derivatives, petroleum coke, and asphalt. The petrochemical industry uses light hydrocarbons (condensate, naphtha, light diesel, etc.), natural gas, and petroleum gas as primary raw materials. Through processes such as cracking, separation, and synthesis, it produces a variety of organic chemical raw materials, synthetic resins and plastics, synthetic rubbers, synthetic fibers, synthetic ammonia, and other products, which are then further processed into means of production and consumer goods. Before 1960, China already had some synthetic petroleum (produced from oil shale) as well as small-scale petroleum refining and petrochemical industries. It was not until the development of oil fields such as Daqing in the 1960s that large-scale petroleum refining, petrochemical, and synthetic materials industries emerged, and they developed at a rapid pace. By the time the China National Petrochemical Corporation was established in 1983, there were 38 key petrochemical enterprises across the country, with fixed asset values amounting to 17.9 billion yuan, and a crude oil processing capacity of nearly 100 million tons ； Existing and under-construction petrochemical capacities are as follows: 1.8 million tons of ethylene, 1.48 million tons of synthetic fiber monomers, 350,000 tons of synthetic rubber, 1.87 million tons of plastics, 2.24 million tons of synthetic ammonia, and 3.58 million tons of urea ； The total industrial output value was 23.5 billion yuan. The most important enterprises at that time were Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Company, Shanghai Petrochemical Complex, Liaoyang Petrochemical Fiber Company, Lanzhou Refinery, Lanzhou Chemical Industry Company, Daqing Petrochemical Complex, Shanghai Gaqiao Petrochemical Company, and Fushun Petrochemical Company. Petroleum refining and processing technologies have gradually developed and improved. In the 1960s, the refining process technologies known as the “Five Golden Flowers” were mastered, namely catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, delayed coking, urea dewaxing, as well as refining catalysts, additives, and processes such as alkylation and hydrocracking. In the 1970s, process technologies such as riser catalytic cracking, bimetallic and multimetallic catalytic reforming, hydrofining, molecular sieve dewaxing, continuous oxidation and shaping of asphalt, and spray dewaxing were developed. After the 1980s, there was rapid progress or improvement in areas such as secondary refining technologies, increasing the degree of crude oil processing, raising the yield of light petroleum products, developing production processes for high-octane gasoline, and improving the technical and economic indicators of refineries. This has improved the quality of various petroleum products and accelerated the process of upgrading the quality of domestically produced petroleum products. By 1984, 328 products had been designated as national high-quality products ； Among all types of petroleum products, those with quality close to or reaching international standards account for 28.6%, which is more than 1.5 times higher than the 10% level in 1978. In the field of petrochemicals, China has mastered and developed advanced technologies in areas such as the organic raw material industry using domestic oil and gas as feedstocks, the synthetic resin and plastic industry, the synthetic rubber industry, the synthetic fiber industry, fine petrochemicals, and the large-scale synthetic ammonia industry. These technologies provide raw materials and chemical products for national economic development, as well as a wide range of daily necessities for people’s needs related to clothing, food, housing, transportation, and other aspects, thereby boosting the market and enriching people’s lives.