Essay --

In recent years, light olefins are used as building blocks for a large variety of chemicals and petrochemicals products that are produced from crude oil. Light olefins are in a class of hydrocarbons with a single double bond and a chemical formula of CnH2n. Ethylene and Propylene are the most important olefins which form the backbone of the petrochemicals market. However, ethylene and propylene have no end use. The highly reactive double bond of the ethylene and propylene makes the molecule ideal for conversion to many useful product such as polymers (eg. polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride), synthetic rubber and fuel components. Currently, most olefins are produced via thermal cracking of naphtha or other light fractions of petroleum with steam, which is often referred to as steam cracking. During the process, the hydrocarbon feedstock which usually of fossil origin, is cracked into smaller molecules. The process is innovative olefin technologies in terms of energy efficiency. The resulting product mix from the cracking process which varies depending on the process c...