# Purified terephthalic acid: Feedstocks

Why PTA's cost is almost all paraxylene

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/feedstocks/

Why PTA's cost is almost all paraxylene 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.

PTA is about 85-90% paraxylene by cost, so its price is PX plus a thin processing margin. What decides competitiveness is integration with PX upstream and polyester downstream, and train size: Chinese 2.5-3 Mt/yr units have the lowest processing cost.

#### Inputs per tonne

| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Paraxylene** | about 0.655-0.665 t (indicative) | terephthalate backbone | about 85-90% of cash cost (indicative) | indicative |
| **Acetic acid** | about 0.03-0.05 t consumed (indicative) | solvent, partly burnt | about 3% (indicative) | indicative |
| [Oil Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/) | indirect | ultimate feed | included above | indicative |
| [Co Cobalt](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/) | small, mostly recycled | oxidation catalyst with manganese and bromide | below 1% (indicative) | indicative |
| [Pd Palladium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/palladium/) | small; Pd on carbon beds | purification | below 1% (indicative) | indicative |

#### Who is low-cost, and why

Large Chinese integrated plants have the lowest processing cost and offered PTA at PX plus $45-55/t in January 2026, while non-China producers needed PX plus at least $100/t (S&P Global). Older Korean, Taiwanese and Thai plants are squeezed.

#### Raw materials on the commodity table
[Oil Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/)

#### What it is made into

| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| [PSF Polyester fibre](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/) | about 68% of PTA |
| [PET PET resin](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pet/) | about 22% |
| [DOP Plasticisers](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/plasticisers/) | small share |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/production/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/links/index.md)