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Possible definitions for iatrochemical
agrochemical
Any chemical used in agriculture, incl. chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. Most are mixtures of two or more chemicals; active ingredients provide the desired effects, and inert ingredients stabilize or preserve the active ingredients or aid in application. Together with other technological advances, incl. tractors, mechanical harvesters, and irrigation pumps, agrochemicals have increased the per-acre productivity of regions such as the Great Plains by 200-300% since the 1930s. Their long-term effects on the environment and the stability of agricultural systems that use them are hotly debated.
petrochemical
Strictly, any of a large class of chemicals (as distinct from fuels) derived from petroleum and natural gas. The category has been broadened to include a much larger range of organic compounds and a few inorganic compounds (incl. carbon black, sulfur, and ammonia). Some materials are hard to classify because they have alternative sources (benzene from coal, ethanol from fermentation). Like crude oil and natural gas, most petrochemicals consist mainly of carbon and hydrogen and are called hydrocarbons. Petrochemicals used as raw materials ("feedstocks") include ethylene (highest volume), propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, xylene, and naphthalene. Petrochemical products include plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene), soaps and detergents, solvents, drugs, fertilizers, pesticides, explosives, synthetic fibers, rubbers, paints, epoxies, flooring and insulating materials, luggage, and recording disks and tapes.
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