A
petrochemical is any
chemical derived from
fossil fuel. These include purified fossil fuels such as
methane,
propane,
butane,
gasoline,
kerosene,
diesel fuel,
aviation fuel[?], or
fuel oil[?], and also include many agricultural chemicals such as
pesticides,
herbicides and
fertilizers, and other items such as
plastics,
asphalt and
synthetic fibers. Also a wide variety of industrial chemicals are petrochemicals.