Benzene

Benzene is a colourless, refractive liquid with a characteristic aromatic odour. Its vapour is toxic and highly flammable. In cold weather, benzene solidifies to a white crystalline mass. It is slightly soluble in water, miscible with ethyl alcohol, ether, acetone, carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulphide, and glacial acetic acid (GAA).

Benzene is the largest volume aromatic petrochemical used to produce a number of petrochemical intermediates.

Ethylbenzene (EB) is the largest chemical outlet for benzene and nearly all is consumed in the production of styrene.

The second largest outlet for benzene is cumene which is nearly all consumed in phenol production with acetone formed as a coproduct.

The third largest outlet for benzene is cyclohexane (CX) which finds its way primarily into the nylon chain via caprolactam and adipic acid.

The fourth main derivative of benzene is nitrobenzene, which can be used to make aniline.

Benzene is used to make a number of other chemical intermediates such as alkylbenzene used in detergents, maleic anhydride(unsaturated polyester resins) and chlorobenzenes (engineering polymers).

The main sources of benzene are from the steam cracking or catalytic reforming of liquid petroleum feedstocks, primarily naphtha, where the benzene is recovered from the aromatics stream. Other processes are hydrodealkylation (HDA) of toluene and toluene disproportionation (TDP).