Benzene is one of the important ba-sic raw materials for petrochemicals.It can be used to synthesize a seriesof important chemical products suchas synthetic rubbers, synthetic resins,synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals,pesticides, explosives and dyestuffs.It can also be used as a solvent forcoatings and rubbers and as a blend-ing agent to increase gasoline's oc-tane number in the refining sector.