What else is natural gas used for other than fuel?

Question

I remember watching a history channel special on crude, and its used for a lot of things other than gas, like plastics. I cant think of any right now but I'd just like a quick list of what its used for.

Answer 1

You are very correct. Crude is used for many other things. The way that these things are obtained is by a process called fractional distillation. If you ever take an organic chemistry course you will learn all about it. Basically, it is a technique which separates compounds based on their molecular weights. The lower weight compounds are extracted first, then the second lowest and running down accordingly. the last fraction to be collected is what is left after everything else is removed. this is asphalt. the lower weight compounds are collected as gasses and then are condensed into a liquid under pressure. just about anything that isn't made of metal, (anything organic) which are the base chemicals for products such as pharmaceuticals, plastics and so on is obtained by this process. the other fractions of interest are natural gas, gasoline,  and diesel.  Also, if you are looking for a career field with exponential growth, look into becoming a plastics engineer. That's what I am and its really interesting. Excellent Question.