GS CALTEX BUSINESS — CHAPTER 02
3 million tons a year of world-scale aromatics —
the second chapter, from naphtha to materials.
From naphtha, we produce raw materials for a wide range of industrial and everyday materials. Naphtha from refining passes through petrochemical processes to become aromatics products — benzene, toluene, mixed xylene and para-xylene. Backed by world-scale capacity and accumulated technology, GS Caltex supplies high-quality aromatics reliably to customers at home and abroad.
ORIGIN
The name aromatics comes from the fact that some of the compounds first discovered in this group had a distinctive fragrance.
Today the term has nothing to do with smell. Aromatics now refers to compounds with a specific molecular structure and properties, like benzene.
01 — BENZENE RING
Six carbons joined in a regular hexagon: benzene. This colorless liquid is the starting material for resins, nylon and detergents. GS Caltex produces 1.08 million tons of high-purity benzene a year for customers worldwide.
01 — TOLUENE
One methyl group (CH₃) on the ring — that small difference makes solvents for paint and ink, and the feedstock for polyurethane (TDI). 200,000 tons a year.
01 — PARA-XYLENE
The starting point of clothing and PET. Two methyl groups in para position give us high-purity PTA — the raw material of polyester fiber and PET bottles. At 1.35 million tons a year, it leads the portfolio.
WORLD-SCALE PARA-XYLENE01 — MIXED XYLENE
Same formula, different position. Mixed xylene is a blend of isomers with two methyl groups at ortho, meta and para positions, plus ethylbenzene. It is used as a solvent for paint and pesticides, and as feedstock for para-xylene. GS Caltex produces 370,000 tons a year.
02 — CAPACITY
Used to produce high-purity PTA and other materials that in turn become polyester fiber and PET.
A flagship basic aromatic used as feedstock for a wide range of petrochemical products.
A blend of xylene isomers, used as feedstock for para-xylene and as a solvent for paint and more.
Used as a solvent for paint, ink and adhesives, and as feedstock for TDI and other chemicals.
03 — INTO EVERYDAY LIFE
The story of the hexagonal ring continues in the next chapter — where naphtha and LPG become ethylene and propylene: the world of olefins.