Ethylene: Overview
The gas behind plastic bags, bottles, antifreeze and pipes
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.Ethylene (C2H4) is a colourless gas made by heating ethane, propane or naphtha with steam to about 850°C in a steam cracker. World capacity reached about 231 Mt a year at the end of 2024, up from about 183 Mt in 2019, with China responsible for up to two-thirds of the additions. About 65% goes into polyethylene; most of the rest becomes ethylene oxide and glycols, PVC and styrene. Cracking burns about 1.5-2 t of CO2 per tonne, so ethylene sits at the centre of plastics, packaging and any credible petrochemical decarbonisation plan.
Volume about 180-185 Mt produced a year (2024, indicative: 231 Mt capacity x about 80% utilisation; Argus put 2023 demand at 174.3 Mt) Market value about $150-170 billion a year (indicative: about 185 Mt x $800-900/t, 2024-2025 Asian price levels) Growth demand about 3% a year; capacity grew 4% a year on average 1992-2023 and about 47 Mt is due in 2024-2028 CareEdge Ratings via Indian Chemical News 2025 (capacity); Argus Ethylene Analytics sample (2023 capacity 221.8 Mt, demand 174.3 Mt); Argus May 2024 and Aug 2025 (utilisation, additions); ICIS blog Sep 2024 (growth history); value derived (indicative)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE) | 65% | about 120 Mtbasis | Ethylene polymerises cheaply into a tough, light, inert plastic that can be blown into film, moulded or extruded into pipe. No other monomer offers that mix of low cost and processability for packaging, which is why most crackers are built with integrated PE trains. Argus May 2024 | polypropylene paper and board glass and aluminium packaging bio-PE from sugarcane ethanol |
| Ethylene oxide and ethylene glycols | 15% | about 28 Mtbasis | Direct silver-catalysed oxidation of ethylene is the only commercial route to ethylene oxide, which is hydrated to MEG for polyester and also feeds surfactants and ethanolamines. Coal-based syngas competes only for MEG, not EO. indicative (basis: IEA The Future of Petrochemicals 2018 and industry splits) | coal-to-MEG via syngas (China) bio-MEG from sugarcane ethanol |
| Ethylene dichloride, VCM and PVC | 10% | about 18 Mtbasis | Ethylene plus chlorine gives EDC, which is cracked to VCM. The balanced oxychlorination route reuses HCl and dominates outside China, where calcium carbide and acetylene from coal still supply much of PVC. indicative (basis: IEA The Future of Petrochemicals 2018 and industry splits) | carbide-acetylene route to VCM (China) |
| Ethylbenzene and styrene | 6% | about 11 Mtbasis | Benzene alkylation with ethylene gives ethylbenzene, dehydrogenated to styrene for polystyrene, ABS and SBR. About 0.3 t ethylene is needed per tonne of styrene. indicative (basis: stoichiometry and industry splits) | PO/SM co-production (still uses ethylbenzene) |
| Other: vinyl acetate, alpha-olefins, EPDM, ethanol | 4% | about 7 Mtbasis | Smaller uses where ethylene is the cheapest two-carbon building block, including comonomers for LLDPE and rubbers for car seals. indicative (remainder) | acetylene routes (historic) fermentation ethanol for ethanol itself |
From raw material to user
- Feedstock: ethane from gas processing or naphtha from refineries About 1.25 t ethane or about 3.3 t naphtha make 1 t ethylene (indicative); naphtha cracking also yields propylene, butadiene and aromatics.
- Steam cracking Furnaces at about 850°C use more than 30 GJ per t ethylene and emit about 1.5-2 t CO2 per t (Chemistry World 2024).
- Cooling, compression and cryogenic separation Cracked gas is compressed and chilled to about -100°C to split ethylene (99.9% polymer grade) from ethane, propylene and heavier products.
- Pipeline or on-site use Most ethylene is consumed in the same complex because shipping a refrigerated gas is costly; seaborne trade is a small share of output.
- Derivatives and conversion About 65% goes to polyethylene (Argus 2024), which converters turn into film, bottles, pipe and moulded goods.
Made from (commodity table)
Oil Crude oilGas Natural gasThree things to know
- World ethylene capacity grew from about 183 Mt in 2019 to about 231 Mt in 2024, and China built up to 66% of the new plant (CareEdge 2025).
- Global cracker utilisation fell from 89% in 2018 to 79% in 2023 (Argus 2024), and Asian naphtha crackers lost money every year 2023-2025, about $158-195/t (Argus 2025).
- A gas-fired cracker emits about 1.5-2 t CO2 per t ethylene; electric furnaces piloted at Ludwigshafen since 2024 aim to cut this by up to 90% on renewable power.