Butadiene: Feedstocks
How the shale boom made America short of rubber feed
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Butadiene is a by-product of cracking naphtha (from crude oil). Its effective feedstock is the crude C4 stream, so competitiveness depends on owning naphtha crackers and C4 extraction. Shale-driven ethane cracking made the US short of butadiene and Asia the swing supplier.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oil Crude oil | crude C4 about 2-2.5 t per t butadiene (indicative) | cracker feed that produces C4 | most of cost; crude C4 priced at a discount to butadiene (indicative) | indicative |
| Gas Natural gas | about 1.2-1.3 t per t (indicative) | dehydrogenation feed | about 60% of on-purpose cost (indicative) | indicative |
| Extraction solvent (NMP, DMF or acetonitrile) and steam | small make-up | extractive distillation | about 5-10% (indicative) | indicative |
Who is low-cost, and why
Integrated naphtha cracker owners in Asia and Europe are low cost because C4 is a by-product. On-purpose dehydrogenation is the high-cost marginal source and only runs when prices are high.
Raw materials on the commodity table
Oil Crude oilWhat it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| SBR Styrene-butadiene rubber | largest use |
| BR Polybutadiene rubber | second largest |
| ABS ABS | rubber phase |
| PA Nylon (PA6, PA66) | via adiponitrile for PA66 |