How many products in your daily life are made from fossil fuels?

Crude oil is a mixture of different substances, many of which enter our materials systems. (Unsplash: Zbynek Burival) Link copiedShareShare articleThe crisis in the Strait of Hormuz almost immediately caused a fuel price shock felt in bank accounts around Australia. Even if the Strait returns to normal, that shock will keep sending prices up in a range of industries. Economic ripples will filter through to a plethora of products, such as plastics, fertilisers, building materials, industrial chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Anthony Halog, a researcher in the circular economy at the University of Queensland, says oil shocks take time to emerge through supply chains. “We often focus on energy. But the real depth of our fossil fuel dependence is really in materials.” And that's because of an uncomfortable fact about our relationship to oil: it's an ingredient in nearly every object we make. It's hard to put an exact number on it, but Dr Halog says it's estimated that around 70,000 everyday products use fossil fuel-derived ingredients at some point in their supply chain. Plastics, pharmaceuticals, and a host of other industrial chemicals are derived from oil. (Unsplash: Roberto Sorin) Most of the everyday products we use, from foods to electronics to building materials, contain carbon that is predominantly sourced from fossil fuels — particularly "crude oil", the raw material mined from the ground. Karen Wilson, a chemist at Griffith University, says petrochemical refineries convert crude oil into a vast array of different substances beyond fuels. In fact, most of these substances are more valuable than the refined fuels which end up in our energy and transport systems. "The clever thing that the petrochemical industry is able to do is take this complex mixture... [and] convert every gram of it into a valuable product," Professor Wilson says. Dr Halog says the current shortages are a "wake-up call", highlighting how vulnerable our material systems are to global shocks, but it could also drive investment in more resilient, and local, alternatives. "For Australia, I think this is both a risk and a strategic opportunity," Dr Halog says. To get an idea of where every gram ends up, click on the cards below to look at a few examples. Electric vehicle sales are soaring worldwide and in Australia, particularly after the spike in petrol prices. The surge in EV sales is expected to cause Australia's emissions to drop further. But while its power is independent of petroleum, the materials in an EV, just as in a conventional car, are still made from fossil sources. Plastics appear throughout the vehicle, from the synthetic fabric in the upholstery to the casing on cables connecting the electronics. They're made from petroleum-derived compounds called olefins. These olefins are also a key component in synthetic rubber. Rubber is a naturally occurring substance, but the world's rubber trees can't meet the world's demand for rubber tyres. The steel in the chassis will have been made with coal or gas. Petrochemicals also have a hand in the clothes you wear. If they have polyester in them, and most clothing does, that polyester has been made from petroleum. Even if you make it from natural fibres, or a poly-cotton blend, those fibres still needed nitrogen fertiliser to grow — which requires natural gas. Synthetic fabric dyes, meanwhile, are also made from molecules derived from crude oil. Most medicines can be traced back to crude oil in one way or another. Take the common painkiller paracetamol, for instance. Paracetamol molecules are usually made from benzene, an "aromatic molecule" derived from crude oil. Aromatic compounds are crucial starting points to make many medicines. Other ingredients for paracetamol can be traced back to petroleum-sourced ethylene, and ammonia which is made with natural gas. Cosmetics, like medicines, also rely on petroleum products. These are not the only examples of fossil fuel-derived materials. Dr Halog calls fossil fuels the "chemical backbone of modern industry", meaning oil shortages ripple right through global supply chains. "In Australia, we are particularly exposed because we import most of our refined fuels and chemical feedstocks," Dr Halog says. These ripples can take different amounts of time to show up, depending on the industry. But there are also ways to soften the blow, according to Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, a researcher at Swinburne University of Technology. "What we can do in the immediate to medium term is we reduce our dependency on oil in industries like energy production," he says. Companies that use plastic packaging are facing price pressures and supply disruptions, which they warn will likely mean higher costs for consumers. Switching to renewable energy can lower pressure on oil supply for manufacturing, according to Professor Seyedmahmoudian. But in the longer term, Dr Halog says reducing our dependence on petrochemicals is necessary for

How many products in your daily life are made from fossil fuels?

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