Modern plastic is composed of many different types of synthesised chemicals, but the first and most important of the plastic raw materials is, if you can believe it, oil. The petrochemicals obtained during the crude oil refining process are the base ingredients of many, many modern products other than plastics as well, but this article will take a look at how oil can be turned into the most heavily used material of today.

The first step of plastic manufacturing is to obtain the oil, which is accomplished through drilling. After being drilled and transferred to the refinery, the oil is separated into several components; besides petrochemicals, crude oil is the source of ethane, propylene, propane, and petroleum. A process called “cracking” further refines the ethane and propylene into ethylene and propylene, which is then combined with some sort of catalyst; the resulting product is a white, fluffy polymer. The polymer is melted and shaped into small plastic pellets. These pellets are what plastic companies purchase in order to make their products; they can be melted and shaped to make almost any product imaginable.

A bit of history about plastics...Plastic as was first introduced by Alexander Parkes in1862 in London. Using cellulose, a plant material, this product was primarily used as an alternative to ivory. Celluloid was the next step in the evolution of this product. A compound of cellulose and camphor, this substance was used extensively in the movie industry for many years. After several more transformations, polyurethanes were patented in 1937 by the Bayer Company.