Researched
Cracking & Petrochemicals
Thermal cracking (Burton, 1913) splits heavy oil into petrol; petrochemistry soon turns oil and gas into plastics and fibres.
Open in the interactive tree →Standard Oil's Burton process roughly doubled the petrol yield from crude oil, and catalytic cracking (Houdry, 1930s) improved it. Refinery gases and by-products became the feedstock for polyethylene, nylon and solvents, making oil the raw material of modern materials.
Prerequisites
- Catalysis1835
- Oil & Natural Gas1859
Unlocks
- Plastics (Bakelite to Nylon)1907-1953Nylon and polyethylene are made from petrochemical feedstocks
- Truly Circular Plastic RecyclingopenMost plastics are petrochemical products, which is why recycling matters