Systems Study of the Petrochemical Industry.

The modern petrochemical industry is the result of the action over decades of incompletely understood economic, technical, and political forces. It is to be hoped that this complex industrial system has evolved into an efficient and flexible provider of the needs of the economy. The authors seek to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and to perceive opportunities for further development. A systems model of the industry provides the necessary insight. A criterion of efficient feedstock utilization on the model of the industry reproduces the dominant structure of the actual industry, thereby lending credence to the model and the performance criterion. Fourteen of the twenty chemicals for which the current production practices differ from those proposed by the model are the subject of current development interest. The remaining six chemicals are produced in the model by currently obsolete processes that may be revived. The response of the verified model to scenarios of potential future developments provides points of departure for planning the long-range development of the industry.