Petroleum products are useful materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it is processed in oil refineries.
According to crude oil composition and demand, refineries can produce different shares of petroleum products. Largest share of oil products is used as energy carriers: various grades of fuel oil and gasoline. Refineries also produce other chemicals, some of which are used in chemical processes to produce plastics and other useful materials. Since petroleum often contains a couple of percent sulfur, large quantities are sulfur are also often produced as a petroleum product. Carbon and hydrogen may also be produced as petroleum products. The hydrogen produced is often used as an intermediate product for other oil refinery processes such as hydrogen catalytic cracking (hydrocracking) and hydrodesulfurization.
See also
Petrochemicals
