Polybutadiene rubber: Feedstocks
Pure butadiene, plus a pinch of rare earth
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.BR is essentially pure butadiene, so butadiene sets almost all of its cost. Butadiene comes mostly from extracting the C4 cut of naphtha crackers, which favours naphtha-based Asian and European producers. Rare-earth (neodymium) catalyst and hexane solvent are small cost items but matter for supply security.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butadiene (chemical tile: butadiene) | about 1.02 t per t BR (indicative) | monomer | about 75-80% of cash cost (indicative) | indicative; $1,095/t CFR China, 8 Sep 2025 (S&P Global Platts via butadiene tile) |
| REE Rare earths | grams per t (indicative) | polymerisation catalyst | under 1% (indicative) | indicative |
| Oil Crude oil | indirect | source of butadiene and solvent | included above | indicative |
| Gas Natural gas | indirect; several t steam per t BR (indicative) | energy | about 10% (indicative) | indicative |
| Rbr Natural rubber | not an input | blended with BR in truck tyres | n/a | rubber tile |
Who is low-cost, and why
Integrated Chinese and Korean producers with captive butadiene are lowest cost. US producers are captive to tyre groups. European producers are high cost and closing capacity.
Raw materials on the commodity table
Oil Crude oilWhat it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| ABS ABS | mass-process ABS uses polybutadiene rubber |
| PS Polystyrene and EPS | low-cis BR is the impact modifier in HIPS |