Almost all modern human life activities today cannot be separated from petrochemical products. Starting from plastic bags, plastic bottles, and household items that we usually use on a daily basis are derivative products of the petrochemical industry. In our homes, interior and wall paints are made from petrochemicals, in the bathroom toothbrushes and clothes brushes are also made from petrochemicals. In the kitchen, plastic plates and cups, as well as the Teflon coating on frying pans are also not spared by the petrochemical industry. Getting out of the house, perfume, cosmetic products, and the clothes we wear are also partly sourced from the same ingredients. The body of the motor vehicle that we wear until the fuel is also not separated from petrochemicals.
Petrochemical products are even used as medical devices such as heart valves for surgery, one of them. Even in agriculture, pesticides and fertilizers commonly used by farmers are also made from petrochemicals. General Affairs Director of PT Kaltim Methanol as well as General Chair of KATGAMA UGM who is steeped in the petrochemical field, Agus Prayitno, explained that petrochemical products are a follow-up product from the processing of oil and natural gas to obtain greater added value. “So the petrochemical industry is very broad. For example, methanol, which is a basic petrochemical product, can be made into hundreds of derivative products," said Agus Prayitno when contacted, Thursday (4/9).
Unfortunately, according to him, the basic or upstream petrochemical industry in Indonesia for more than two decades is still running in place. Since 1998 until now, there is only one methanol producer in Indonesia, namely PT Kaltim Methanol Indonesia in Bontang, East Kalimantan. In fact, there are already quite a number of petrochemical derivative product producers in Indonesia, for example the Indonesian Chemical Industry Federation, INAPLAS, Lotte Chemical Titan Indonesia, Mitsubishi Chemical Indonesia, Nippon Shokubai Indonesia, and so on.
“The main obstacle for the basic chemical industry now is the decreasing availability of natural gas as a raw material. Technologically, I think we are capable, there is no problem," he said.
Upstream and Downstream Petrochemical Industry
The petrochemical industry is broadly divided into two, namely the basic or upstream petrochemical industry and the downstream petrochemical industry. The basic petrochemical industry is a producer of basic chemicals, such as methanol, ethylene, propylene, butadiene, ammonia, and so on. The added value generated by the basic petrochemical industry is not too large, but this industry plays a very strategic role for the petrochemical industry in general.
This is because the products produced from the upstream petrochemical industry will later become raw materials for the downstream petrochemical industry. When the downstream petrochemical industry is increasing with increasing production capacity but not being matched by an adequate upstream petrochemical industry, the impact is that the need for raw materials can only be met by importing. "As now, our import figures are still very large," said Agus Prayitno.
From this basic petrochemical, later it will be lowered into derivative products by the downstream petrochemical industry such as polyurethane plastic which is the raw material for car bumpers, fiberglass as raw material for aircraft propellers, food and beverage packaging, and so on. Currently, the number of downstream petrochemical industries that produce derivative products from petrochemicals in Indonesia is increasing.
"Don't let us have a downstream industry but import raw materials, because the output from the upstream industry is minimal," he said.
Ideally, in addition to having a downstream petrochemical industry, in the country there should also be an upstream petrochemical industry that is sufficient as a producer of raw materials. It will be useless, when there are many downstream petrochemical industries but no upstream industries. Because Indonesia will still depend on imports to meet its raw material needs.
Petrochemical Industry Basic Material
For raw materials, there are two basic types of raw materials in the petrochemical industry, namely petroleum and natural gas. Crude oil is a complex chemical compound in the form of a blackish brown liquid with the largest composition of hydrocarbon compounds. There are also several other compounds with relatively smaller amounts such as sulfur, nickel metals, vanadium, arsenite, and other impurities. About 85 percent of all crude oil in the world, is classified into three groups namely asphalt base oil, paraffin base oil, and mixed base oil. Asphalt base oil has a little paraffin wax with asphalt as the main residue with a very dominant aromatic content. In contrast, paraffin base oil contains very little bitumen, so it is very good for producing paraffin wax, motorcycle lubricating oil, and high quality kerosene. While the mixed base oil contains paraffin and asphalt with an almost balanced composition.
The second petrochemical raw material, namely natural gas, is a mixture of saturated hydrocarbon gases found below the earth's surface and can be found with petroleum. The components of natural gas that can be used as petrochemical raw materials include methane, ethane, propane, butane, and condensate.
The Key to Economic Development to Become a Developed Country
According to Agus Prayitno, the petrochemical industry is an important pillar for the economy of a country, including Indonesia. The reason is, almost all sectors of human life today cannot be separated from petrochemical products. There are many community activities that depend on petrochemical products. "If it is not immediately pursued and improved, then we will continue to depend on imports," said Agus.
According to Agus, the petrochemical industry plays an important role in reducing the current account deficit (CAD) or the current account deficit, namely a situation where imports are greater than exports. According to him, the large CAD deficit currently experienced by Indonesia is one of the main reasons for the high number of imports of petrochemical products, both basic and derived petrochemical products.
As an illustration, based on data released by INAPLAS, it shows that the demand for Indonesian upstream petrochemical products such as polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polystyrene almost reaches 6 million tons in a year. However, the domestic industry is only able to meet about 30 percent of the domestic demand. While the remaining 70 percent, all must be met by way of imports.
It is estimated that in the future, household consumption of petrochemical products will continue to increase by 5 percent, while manufacturing growth will also grow by 3 to 4 percent. "The development of the petrochemical industry is indeed very important and strategic for the country's economy," said Agus. It will be very decisive for the development of the Republic of Indonesia if millennials pay attention to important things that are the foundation of the progress of a nation, such as the petrochemical industry. "We need the best generation that has a concentration on basic chemical sciences such as petrochemistry," said Agus. (Widi Erha Pradana / YK-1).
(source of article adapted from: https://kumparan.com )
