From Crude Oil to Plastics

Most crude oil is turned into fuel for transportation.  Less than 2% is used as feedstock in making plastics.  Here's a breakdown of all the ways the United States uses crude oil.

GASOLINE       

Of all the crude oil refined for use in the United States, almost half (47%) becomes gasoline for automobiles, boats and other gasoline-driven motors.

JET FUEL

Airplanes consume 10%, in the form of jet fuel.

DIESEL FUEL AND HOME HEATING

Another 20% becomes distillate, two-thirds of which is diesel fuel for trucks, buses and other diesel engines, and one-third home heating oil.

BOILER OIL

Boiler oil, or residual fuel oil, which makes up 7% of crude oil consumption, is used on ships, in industrial boilers and in power plants to produce electricity.

ASPHALT AND ROAD OIL

Asphalt and road oil account for 3% of crude oil consumption.

OTHER

Some of the crude oil, about 10%, is used as non-energy feedstocks for manufacturing products such as lubricants, wax, coke for steel making, and napthas that are used in the drycleaning process.

PETROCHEMICAL FEEDSTOCKS

Petrochemical feedstocks, products of the refining process, make up the remaining 3% of all crude oil consumption.  Half are used to make PLASTICS (1.5% of the total) for thousands of items such as tableware, furniture, aircraft and automobile parts, luggage, surfboards, helmets, medical supplies and packaging.  The remaining 1.5% is used to make products such as solvents, synthetic fibers for wearing apparel, synthetic rubber, paints and coatings.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION

Plastics bring about savings in energy use.  For example, parts for cars and trucks are increasingly made of plastic to reduce their weight, and that means better fuel economy.  Plastics packaging and other plastic products usually weigh less than their alternatives, and this saves fuel in shipping.