[1]The petroleum era was ushered in by the 1859 finding at Titusville, Pennsylvania, but the flourishing of chemicals from petroleum has been only since the early twentieth century. Natural gas and petroleum are in fact our chief sources of hydrocarbons. Natural gas is quite variable in composition, but the major constituent (>60%) is methane. Other components are the homologous alkanes, ethane, propane, and higher hydrocarbons. In terms of volume, most of the natural gas produced is used for fuel, although a substantial amount is used as raw material for the synthesis of various types of chemicals.

 

　　[1] 1859賓夕法尼亞州Titusville地區鉆出油井，開創了石油時代。但從石油中成功地提取化學產品，則直到20世紀早期才開始。實際上，天然氣和石油是我們碳氫化合物 的主要來源。天然氣在成分上不大穩定，但主要成分(〉60%)是甲烷。其他組分有同系 烷、乙烷、丙烷以及高分子碳氫化合物。從數量看，盡管有相當數量的天然氣用作各種 合成化合物的原料，但所生產的大多數天然氣用作燃料。

 

　　[2]The chemical industry depends very heavily on petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as sources of raw materials. It is likely that in excess of 90% of the literally thousands of different basic organic chemicals employed today are derived from these sources.

 

　　[2]化學工業的原材料來源嚴重依賴石油、天然氣和液態天然氣。當今所應用的上千 種不同的基本有機化學產品中很可能有超過90%的產品來自這些資源。

 

　　[3]The petrochemical industry has grown with the petroleum industry and is considered by some to be a mature industry. However, as is the case with the latest trends in changing crude oil types, it must also evolve to meet changing technological needs.

 

　　[3]石油化學工業是隨著石油工業發展起來的，而且有人認為已是一個成熟的工業部 門。然而，從原油類型變化的最新趨勢來看，石油化學工業同樣需要進一步發展以適應 技術發展的需要。

 

　　[4]The manufacture of chemicals or chemical intermediates from petroleum and natural gas constituents is an excellent example of the conversion of such materials to more valuable products. The individual chemicals made from petroleum and natural gas are numerous and include industrial chemicals, household chemicals, fertilizers, and paints, as well as intermediates for the manufacture of products, such as synthetic rubber and plastics.

 

　　[4]從石油和天然氣成分中生產化學產品或化學中間產品極好地證明了這些物質能 夠轉換成更有價值的產品。從石油和天然氣提取的單個化學產品數量眾多，包括工業產 品、家庭用品、化肥、油漆，以及用于生產其他產品的中間產品，如合成橡膠和塑料。

 

　　[5]The processing of petroleum hydrocarbon to yield materials that are, essentially, the building blocks of other chemicals industries, is now very extensive.

 

　　[5]石油碳氫化合物通過加工所生產的物質，基本上是其他化學工業的預制品，這種 加工目前范圍十分廣泛。

 

　　[6]Petrochemicals are generally chemical compounds derived from petroleum either by direct manufacture or by indirect manufacture as by-products from the variety of processes that are used during the refining of petroleum. Gasoline, kerosine, fuel oils, Lubricating oils, waxes, asphalts, and the like are excluded from the definition of petrochemicals, since they are not, in the true sense, chemical compounds but are in fact intimate mixtures of hydrocarbons.

 

　　[6]石化產品一般指直接或間接地從石油中提煉的化合物，這些化合物往往是石油煉 制各種過程中產生的副產品。汽油、煤油、燃料油、潤滑油、石蠟、瀝青以及諸如此類的 產品不屬于石化產品。因為，從嚴格意義上說，它們不是化合物，而是烴類的均質混合物。

 

　　[7]The classification of materials such as petrochemicals is used to indicate the source of the chemical compounds, but it should be remembered that many common petrochemicals can be made from other sources, and the terminology is therefore a matter of source identification.

 

　　[7]像“石化產品”這樣的物質分類用來表明化合物的來源。但應記住，許多我們所 熟知的石化產品也可以通過其他途徑生產，因而這一名稱只是用來識別原料。

 

　　[8]The starting materials for the petrochemical industry are obtained from crude petroleum in one of two general ways. They maybe present in the virgin petroleum and as such, are isolated by physical methods, such as distillation or solvent extraction. On the other hand, they may be present in trace amounts and are synthesized during the refining operations. In fact, unsaturated hydrocarbons, which are not usually present in virgin petroleum, are nearly always manufactured as intermediates during the various refining sequences.

 

　　[8]石化工業的初始原料大概通過一到兩種方法從原油中提取。這些原料物質，也許 本身就存在于原油當中，因此通過物理方法加以分離，如蒸餾和溶取。同時，這些物質 也可能因含量低而在煉制作業中生成了合成物。實際上，原油中一般不存在非飽和烴， 幾乎所有的非飽和烴都是在各種煉制過程中作為中間產品而產生的。

 

　　[9]The manufacture of chemicals from petroleum is based on the ready response of the various compound types to basic chemical reactions, such as oxidation, halogenation, nitration, dehydrogenation, addition, polymerization, and alkylation. The low-molecular-weight paraffins and olefins, as found in natural gas and refinery gases, and the simple aromatic hydrocarbons have so far been of the most interest because it is these individual species that can readily be isolated and dealt with. A wide range of compounds is possible, many are being manufactured, and we are now progressing the stage in which a sizable group of products is being prepared from the heavier fractions of petroleum. For example, the various reactions of petroleum heavy ends, in particular the asphaltenes, indicate that these materials may be regarded as chemical entities and are able to participate in numerous chemical or physical conversions to, perhaps, more useful materials. The overall effect of these modifications is the production of materials that either afford good-grade aromatic cokes comparatively easily or the formation of products bearing functional groups that may be employed as a nonfuel material.

 

　　[9]從石油生產化學品的依據是各種類型的化合物對各種基本的化學作用感應迅速, 如氧化作用、鹵化作用、硝化作用、脫氫作用、添加作用、聚合作用和烷基化作用。迄 今為止，人們最感興趣的是從天然氣和煉廠氣中所得到的低分子量石蠟和烯烴，以及簡 單芳烴，因為這些物質能夠進行迅速分離和處理。大量化合物都有望得到、其中許多化 合物正在生產。目前我們正在探索如何從石油的重質餾分中提煉數量可觀的產品。比如， 石油重質尾部餾分，尤其是瀝青質的各種反應表明這些物質可以看成化學本質，也許能 夠通過各種化學和物理反應轉變成更有價值的產品。這些變化的總體效應是，所生產的 物質，或者能夠相對容易地提供高品質芳焦，或者能夠形成功能族產品，用作非燃料材料。

 

　　[10]Reactions incorporating nitrogen and phosphorus into the asphaltenes are particularly significant at a time when the effects on the environment of many materials containing these elements are receiving considerable attention. Various measures have been and will be taken to release such effects.

 

　　[10]將氮氣和磷混合成瀝青的化學反應尤為重要，因為含有這些元素的物質對環境 造成的影響正受到嚴重關注。人們已經且還要采取各種措施來減少這些影響。

 

　　[11]Nevertheless, the main objective in producing chemicals from petroleum is the formation of a variety of well-defined chemical compounds that are the basis of the petrochemical industry. It must be remembered, however, that ease of separation of a particular compound from petroleum does not guarantee its use as a petrochemical building block. Other parameters, particularly the economics of the reaction sequences, including the costs of the reactant equipment, must also be taken into consideration.

 

　　[11]不過，從石油生產化學制品的主要目的在于，生產出大量具有明確界定的化合 物，以奠定石化工業的基礎。但是必須清楚，如果某種化合物能夠容易地從石油中分離 出來，并不表明它一定就是石化產品的預制品。其他因素，尤其是生產這些化合物的經 濟因素，包括反應設備的成本，必須考慮在內。