# Ethylene: Relationships Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/links/ Every element and industry that Ethylene is linked to, and how. Each pair has its own card explaining the relationships between the two. - [Butadiene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/butadiene-and-ethylene/): Butadiene is almost entirely a by-product of ethylene crackers, so its supply follows cracker runs and feed choice rather than tyre demand. A naphtha cracker yields about seven times more butadiene per tonne of ethylene than an ethane cracker, so the shift to cheap shale and Gulf ethane tightened butadiene supply. *(researched)* - [Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-ethylene/): Outside the US and the Gulf, much ethylene is cracked from crude-derived naphtha, so oil sets its cost; naphtha crackers yield as little as 30% ethylene and are the high-cost supply, now squeezed by Asian overcapacity. *(researched)* - [Methanol](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-methanol/): In China, methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plants turn about 2.6 to 3 t of methanol into a tonne of ethylene and propylene, so methanol competes with naphtha and ethane as an olefin feed. Olefin prices therefore cap what MTO plants can pay for methanol, and coastal MTO plants that buy imported methanol are the swing users. *(researched)* - [Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-natural-gas/): Ethane separated from natural gas cracks into ethylene at over 80% yield, against about 30% for naphtha, so gas-rich regions make the cheapest ethylene and set the competitive bar for oil-based crackers. *(researched)* - [PVC](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-pvc/): Outside China, PVC is built on ethylene: ethylene and chlorine make ethylene dichloride, which is cracked to vinyl chloride and polymerised, a chain that takes about 15% of world ethylene. China makes most of its PVC from coal via calcium carbide instead, and in January to October 2025 it sent 42% of its PVC exports to India, the largest buyer on the world market. *(researched)* - [Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-polyethylene-ldpe-lldpe/): Polyethylene is the main use of ethylene, taking more than 60% of it across all grades, so cracker earnings rise and fall with polyethylene demand. Owners of both the cracker and the polymer line keep the whole chain margin, but the wave of new capacity, led by China, has kept even integrated Asian margins weak since late 2021. *(researched)* - [Propylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-propylene/): Ethylene and propylene come out of the same steam cracker, in proportions fixed largely by the feed: ethane gives almost no propylene, naphtha gives about half as much propylene as ethylene. The move of US crackers to cheap ethane cut co-product propylene, and dedicated routes such as propane dehydrogenation grew to fill the gap. *(researched)* - [Bio-based polyethylene and MEG](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bio-based-polyethylene-and-meg-and-ethylene/): Their prices have moved together. - [CNG, LPG and biogas distribution](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cng-lpg-and-biogas-distribution-and-ethylene/): Their prices have moved together. - [EPDM](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/epdm-and-ethylene/): Their prices have moved together. - [Ethylene oxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-ethylene-oxide/): Their prices have moved together. - [Fatty alcohols](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-fatty-alcohols/): Their prices have moved together. - [High-density polyethylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-high-density-polyethylene/): Their prices have moved together. - [Monoethylene glycol](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-monoethylene-glycol/): Their prices have moved together. - [Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-plastic-and-rubber-products/): Plastic and rubber products depends on ethylene. - [Refining and reforming](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-refining-and-reforming/): Their prices have moved together. - [Styrene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-styrene/): Their prices have moved together. - [Vinyl chloride monomer](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-vinyl-chloride-monomer/): Their prices have moved together. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/correlation/index.md) - [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/routes/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/production/index.md) - [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/feedstocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/movement/index.md) - [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/regulation/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/emissions/index.md)