Nylon

• The synthetic fiber known as nylon was first manufactured during the 1930s following research completed by the DuPont group in synthetic fibers such as artificial leather and silk. The research into nylon was headed by Wallace Hume Caruthers, who combined chemical compounds to create various forms of nylon, including nylon 66, also known as polyhexamethylene adianide. Nylon is a form of polyamide fiber.
  
  

Benzene

• Benzene is a colorless liquid with a sweet odor that is commonly used in the production of nylon, for which it is used to create cyclohexane. Benzene is a byproduct of the petroleum or crude-oil refining process. The first extraction of benzene was completed from coal tar in the 19th century. The chemical 1,4 butadiene is another nylon ingredient that is created during the process of petroleum distillation.
  
  

Distillation

• The distillation of crude oil is used to extract the chemicals created from the complex mixture of hydrogen and carbon that is present in the unrefined petroleum. The process of refining crude oil to remove benzene and 1,4 butadiene involves the heating of liquid crude oil until it reaches a gaseous state, according to Elmhurst College. Each compound that is extracted from the petroleum has a different boiling point, allowing the gas that forms each chemical component to be extracted at different temperatures after the petroleum divides during the heating process. The gaseous form of crude oil is passed into a distillation tank where it is allowed to cool and reform into a liquid form.
  
  

Furfural

• Furfural is an ingredient of nylon that is obtained from organic materials, such as corn stalks, corn cobs, peanut and oat husks, Biomass Magazine reports. To obtain furfural from organic plant materials, pentose sugars are removed from the materials by dehydration methods. The sugars that furfural are obtained from include xylose and arabinose. When obtained from organic materials, furfural is an almond-scented, yellow-to-dark-brown oily liquid. Other products that use furfural in the production process include the manufacturing of plastics and as an alternative fuel source.