Butadiene: Overview
Tyre rubber, ABS plastic and nylon from one gas
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.1,3-Butadiene (C4H6) is a gas recovered by extractive distillation from the crude C4 stream of naphtha steam crackers. Global capacity was about 20.3 Mt a year in 2025, and China held about 36%. Roughly 60% goes into synthetic rubbers (SBR, polybutadiene) for tyres, the rest into ABS, SB latex and nylon 6,6 via adiponitrile. Because supply follows naphtha cracking, the shift to ethane and Chinese additions swing its price more than any other olefin. It is a known human carcinogen.
Volume about 15 Mt produced a year (2025, indicative: 20.3 Mt capacity x about 75% utilisation) Market value about $15-18 billion a year (indicative: about 15 Mt x $1,000-1,200/t, 2025 Asian levels) Growth China demand about 3% a year and India about 5% a year 2025-2029; global synthetic rubber about 1.7% a year S&P Global Sep 2025 (capacity, growth); Mysteel Sep 2025 (China share); value derived (indicative)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR, emulsion and solution) | 30% | about 4.5 Mtbasis | SBR gives tyre treads grip and wear resistance at lower cost than natural rubber. Solution SBR, growing 3.6% a year (S&P Global 2025), lowers rolling resistance for fuel-efficient and EV tyres. indicative (basis: industry splits); growth S&P Global 2025 | natural rubber bio-based or recycled carbon black blends |
| Polybutadiene rubber (BR) | 25% | about 3.8 Mtbasis | BR gives tyre sidewalls and treads resilience and low heat build-up, and is also used to toughen high-impact polystyrene and ABS. indicative | natural rubber |
| ABS and SB latex | 20% | about 3.0 Mtbasis | Butadiene's rubbery phase gives ABS impact strength for appliances and car interiors; SB latex binds carpet backing and paper coatings. indicative | polypropylene compounds acrylic latex |
| Adiponitrile (nylon 6,6) and chloroprene | 10% | about 1.5 Mtbasis | Hydrocyanation of butadiene is the dominant route to adiponitrile and hexamethylenediamine for nylon 6,6. indicative | acrylonitrile electrodimerisation |
| Other: NBR, SBS, sulfolane, ENB | 15% | about 2.3 Mtbasis | Nitrile rubber for gloves and seals, SBS for asphalt modification and adhesives. indicative (remainder) | other elastomers |
From raw material to user
- Naphtha cracking Naphtha crackers produce about 0.15 t butadiene per t ethylene; ethane crackers produce about a tenth of that (indicative).
- Crude C4 extraction Extractive distillation with NMP, DMF or acetonitrile recovers butadiene at 99.5%+ purity from crude C4 containing about 40-50% butadiene (indicative).
- On-purpose routes (minor) Butane or butene dehydrogenation, mainly in China, fills gaps when C4 is short.
- Polymerisation SBR and BR plants polymerise butadiene, often next to tyre clusters.
- Tyres and products Tyres take the majority of rubber; Southeast Asian tyre exports grew 8.1% in 2020-2024 (S&P Global 2025).
Made from (commodity table)
Oil Crude oilThree things to know
- World butadiene capacity is about 20.3 Mt a year (2025), and more than 3 Mt was added in five years (S&P Global).
- China held about 36% of capacity at end-2025, 7.58 Mt, up 14% in a year, and should be self-sufficient around 2030 (Mysteel; S&P Global).
- Butadiene prices fell by $470-530/t across Asia, the US and Europe between January and early December 2025 (S&P Global Platts).