Benzene is used mainly as an intermediate to make other chemicals, above all ethylbenzene, cumene, cyclohexane, nitrobenzene, and alkylbenzene.
More than half of the entire benzene production is processed into ethylbenzene, a precursor to styrene, which is used to make polymers and plastics like polystyrene and EPS.
Some 20% of the benzene production is used to manufacture cumene, which is needed to produce phenol and acetone for resins and adhesives.
