"Do synthetics come from petroleum (I am no expert - and may be way off course here ???). So big it is the case, would petroleum Coys like to lose a market for their product ?????? If I am incorrect here - sorry please correct me" !!
144 Products Made From Petroleum And 4 That May Shock You
What products and uses does Petroleum have outside of Gasoline?
An April 2007 nationwide online survey revealed that 72 percent of the American public does not know that conventional plastic is made from petroleum products, primarily oil.
I assumed this was common knowledge.
Apparently, it falls into the useless trivia category in most people’s brains.
This reminds me of a video I was watching last week, the best of Jaywalking with Jay Leno on his final show.
I didn’t see this one live, but it his jaywalking bit will be missed. If anything it should make you feel a lot smarter.
Gasoline 46%
Heating Oil / Diesel Fuel 20%
Jet Fuel ( kerosene) 8%
Propane / Propylene 7%
NGL / LRG 6%
Still Gas 4%
Petrochemical Feedstocks 2%
Petroleum Coke 2%
Residual / Heavy Fuel Oil 2%
Asphalt / Road Oil 2%
Lubricants 1%
Miscellaneous Products / Special Naphthas 0.4%
Other Liquids 1%
Aviation Gasoline 0.1%
Waxes 0.04%
Kerosene 0.02%
Here is a partial list of products made from petroleum?
There is a quite a large list of products made from petroleum.
This list is constantly growing as new inventions are created.
Here are some of the items which are made from petroleum.
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
0
Solvents
Diesel fuel
Motor Oil
Bearing Grease
1
Ink
Floor Wax
Ballpoint Pens
Football Cleats
2
Upholstery
Sweaters (that explains the itchy sweater I have at home)
Boats
Insecticides
3
Bicycle Tires
Sports Car Bodies
Nail Polish
Fishing lures
4
Dresses
Tires
Golf Bags
Perfumes
5
Cassettes
Dishwasher parts
Tool Boxes
Shoe Polish
6
Motorcycle Helmet
Caulking
Petroleum Jelly
Transparent Tape
7
CD Player (do people still have these?)
Faucet Washers
Antiseptics
Clothesline
8
Curtains
Food Preservatives
Basketballs
Soap (that explains why soap doesn’t clean oil off your hands)
9
Vitamin Capsules
Antihistamines
Purses
Shoes
10
Dashboards
Cortisone
Deodorant
Footballs
11
Putty
Dyes
Panty Hose
Refrigerant
12
Percolators
Life Jackets
Rubbing Alcohol
Linings
13
Skis
TV Cabinets
Shag Rugs
Electrician’s Tape
14
Tool Racks
Car Battery Cases
Epoxy
Paint
15
Mops
Slacks
Insect Repellent
Oil Filters
16
Umbrellas
Yarn
Fertilizers
Hair Coloring
17
Roofing
Toilet Seats
Fishing Rods
Lipstick
18
Denture Adhesive
Linoleum
Ice Cube Trays
Synthetic Rubber
19
Speakers
Plastic Wood
Electric Blankets
Glycerin
20
Tennis Rackets
Rubber Cement
Fishing Boots
Dice
21
Nylon Rope
Candles
Trash Bags
House Paint
22
Water Pipes
Hand Lotion
Roller Skates
Surf Boards
23
Shampoo
Wheels
Paint Rollers
Shower Curtains
24
Guitar Strings
Luggage
Aspirin
Safety Glasses
25
Antifreeze
Football Helmets
Awnings
Eyeglasses (I thought they were made from glass)
26
Clothes
Toothbrushes
Ice Chests
Footballs
27
Combs
CD’s & DVD’s
Paint Brushes
Detergents
28
Vaporizers
Balloons
Sun Glasses
Tents
29
Heart Valves
Crayons
Parachutes
Telephones
30
Enamel
Pillows
Dishes
Cameras
31
Anesthetics
Artificial Turf
Artificial limbs
Bandages
32
Dentures
Model Cars
Folding Doors
Hair Curlers
33
Cold cream
Movie film
Soft Contact lenses
Drinking Cups
34
Fan Belts
Car Enamel
Shaving Cream
Ammonia
35
Refrigerators
Golf Balls
Toothpaste (Yuck)
Gasoline
While there will be a number of industries that benefit from lower oil prices, it isn’t usually an immediate effect. It takes time for input prices to filter through the corporate supply chain and the economy.
Given the large drop in oil prices, this should give you some ideas about areas that could benefit from these lower prices. Investing in the oil sector may require some caution.
My thought is to be careful of catching a falling knife on oil prices. There will eventually be some great bargains in the oil and gas energy sector, but patience is always a virtue. Look elsewhere to related industries.
So let’s continue our discussion of manufactured fibers, shall we? Last time we talked about plant-based manufactured fibers, or cellulosics, which originate when plants are broken down by chemicals and are then forced through little holes in a spinneret to make the filaments, much in the same way that a silkworm spins its cocoon.
solution being forced through a spineret to make fibers
But the most common manufactured fibers are petroleum-based. With these fibers, the shape of the spinnerets and how the filaments are processed affect the finished fabric enormously. Obviously, anything made from petroleum isn’t going to be very environmentally friendly. But I’ll talk more about that later.
Here are some of the most common petroleum-based fibers.
Acrylic is a polymer fiber that has a lightweight, soft, warm, and wool-like feel. It takes dyes beautifully and has excellent colorfastness. It resists shrinking and wrinkles. Those pashmina wraps that New York sidewalk vendors sell in every color of the spectrum are actually made of acrylic because it can be finished to have a similar feel to cashmere.
(Yes, I know the labels say they’re made of pashmina or cashmere, but you don’t really believe you can buy a large pashmina wrap for under $10, do you?) Unlike cashmere, however, acrylic tends to fuzz or pill easily, and it isn’t nearly as warm. It also builds up static and can irritate the skin of people who suffer from eczema. (Can you tell I’m not a big fan?)
Polyester has a bad reputation, but as a fiber it possesses some valuable qualities. It is strong and resistant to stretching and shrinking. It dries quickly, and it’s crisp and resilient both when dry and wet. It’s also wrinkle and abrasion resistant, and it retains heat-set pleats and creases well. It’s easy to wash, but it’s difficult to remove stains from polyester because it repels water so well. It’s also prone to static and pilling. So that sort of explains why polyester was so popular in the 60’s and 70’s, doesn’t it?
At the time, it seemed like a miracle fiber, sort of like prepared foods were miracle foods; they were so easy to prepare. The sad truth, however, is that although it’s the most commonly used manufactured fiber in apparel, polyester is also one of the least environmentally friendly fabrics to produce.
Not than any of these fibers are terribly environmentally friendly, but polyester is the worst offender.
This is Polly Ester, not Polyester
Nylon is the second most widely used manufactured fiber in the U.S. The polymers used to make nylon give it strength as well as good elasticity and resilience. Nylon also has a nice drape. It can be washed or dry cleaned, but because it repels water (the technical term for this is “hydrophobic” if you want to know how to sound like a real fabric geek), it tends to build up static and pills easily. You’ll find nylon used most often in intimate wear, swimwear, exercise wear, hosiery, and sometimes in jackets.
Spandex has excellent stretch and durability without pilling or building up static. Spandex is quite expensive to produce, however, and tends to yellow and become brittle over time. This doesn’t usually pose a problem for most street wear, however, because spandex is usually blended in small quantities (sometimes as little as 1%) with other yarns to make fabric with some stretch. You don’t need much spandex to get stretch in a fabric, but if you’ve ever had a swimsuit give out after spending time in a chlorine pool, you’ve experienced the drawbacks of spandex.
Some of the most interesting innovations in the manufactured fiber industry over the past few decades have been in the production of microfibers. These fibers are much finer than the manufactured fibers I’ve just discussed, and there are two methods used to produce them. In the first, very fine filaments are produced which are then stretched to make an even finer yarn. In the second method, two polymers are combined into a filament which is then split it into a number of even finer filaments.
The fineness of these fibers gives them their unique qualities. The hand is softer than other manufactured fibers, they drape better, and they wick moisture (which means that they’ll pull moisture away from your body to keep you comfortable). Microfibers can also be combined with other fibers to improve on the original qualities of another fiber. For example, microfibers blended with wool can make the wool appear to be a better quality than it actually is. (Tricky, hmm?)
And now that some fibers are actually being produced from recycled materials, not all petroleum-based fibers are as bad for the environment as their reputation would lead you to believe. Post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soda bottles are commonly recycled into polyester fibers, and from what I understand this doesn’t require any more energy or processing than the creation of new polyester. So we can feel at least a little better about recycled polyester and polyester microfibers now that we’re recycling materials.
Now that we’ve discussed common fibers used in apparel fabrics, we’ll turn next to discussing some of the finished fabrics themselves. Within each fiber category there are such a wide variety of fabrics, we’ll never be able to discuss them all, but maybe you’ll learn about some fabric you hadn’t previously considered. I’d love to hear about your favorite fabrics to sew, too. Have you discovered any fabrics that have surprised you and that you’ve enjoyed sewing or wearing?
