Propylene: Overview
From yoghurt pots to car bumpers: polypropylene's raw material
From yoghurt pots to car bumpers: polypropylene's raw material 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.Propylene (C3H6) is a three-carbon gas used mainly to make polypropylene, plus propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, cumene and acrylic acid. Unlike ethylene, it comes from several sources: naphtha crackers, refinery fluid catalytic crackers, coal or methanol to olefins and, increasingly, on-purpose propane dehydrogenation (PDH) in China. World capacity reached about 188 Mt a year at end-2025, up 25% from 151 Mt in 2021. China's PDH boom has created a deep glut, with plants running near 70% and polymer margins near zero.
Volume about 135-140 Mt produced a year (2025, indicative: 188 Mt capacity x about 72-75% utilisation) Market value about $100-115 billion a year (indicative: about 137 Mt x $750-850/t, 2025 Asian levels) Growth demand about 3-4% a year; capacity grew 4.5% a year 2018-2023 and about 44 Mt is due in 2024-2028 Mysteel Nov 2025 (capacity); Argus May 2024 (growth, additions); value derived (indicative)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polypropylene | 71% | about 97 Mtbasis | Propylene polymerises into a stiff, heat-resistant, low-density plastic that wins in woven sacks, rigid packaging, car parts, fibres and caps. It is the cheapest thermoplastic per unit volume, so most new propylene capacity is built with a PP plant attached. Argus May 2024 | polyethylene PET engineering plastics in cars |
| Propylene oxide | 8% | about 11 Mtbasis | PO for polyurethane polyols and propylene glycol can only be made from propylene, via chlorohydrin, co-oxidation or hydrogen peroxide routes. indicative (basis: industry splits) | bio-propylene glycol from glycerine |
| Acrylonitrile | 6% | about 8 Mtbasis | Ammoxidation of propylene (SOHIO process) is the only commercial acrylonitrile route, for ABS, acrylic fibre and carbon fibre. indicative | propane ammoxidation (not commercial at scale) |
| Cumene (phenol and acetone) | 5% | about 7 Mtbasis | Benzene plus propylene gives cumene, which is oxidised to phenol and acetone, then bisphenol A and polycarbonate. indicative | none at scale |
| Oxo alcohols, acrylic acid, isopropanol and others | 10% | about 14 Mtbasis | Propylene is the cheapest three-carbon feed for butanols and 2-ethylhexanol (plasticisers, coatings), acrylic acid (superabsorbents, paints) and isopropanol (solvents). indicative (remainder) | bio-based acrylic acid (pilot) acetone hydrogenation for IPA |
From raw material to user
- Feedstock: naphtha, refinery gas oil, propane or coal China's PDH plants alone needed about 20 Mt of propane in 2025 (CERA via S&P Global).
- Production Naphtha crackers yield about 0.5 t propylene per t ethylene; PDH converts about 1.2 t propane per t propylene (indicative).
- Purification Splitter columns separate polymer grade (99.5%+) from propane; refinery grade (about 70%) is upgraded.
- Polymerisation About 71% of propylene goes into polypropylene (Argus 2024).
- Conversion PP is moulded, extruded or spun into packaging, sacks, fibres and car parts.
Made from (commodity table)
Oil Crude oilGas Natural gasThree things to know
- World propylene capacity rose 25% in four years to about 188 Mt in 2025, driven by Chinese PDH (Mysteel 2025).
- China's PDH plants ran at about 70% in July-November 2025 and the China PP-propylene spread fell to $75/t, against $250-350/t needed (S&P Global, Dec 2025).
- Argus (2024) put about half of new propylene supply from PDH and a third from crackers, so propane, not naphtha, is now the marginal feed.