Is the raw material for styrene-butadiene rubber, butadiene, seeing a sharp price increase? Why?
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I heard that the price of butadiene has been rising since 2011? Some say that unstable production within Libya is the cause of the unstable supply ； It is also said that this is because various companies have adjusted their production processes, resulting in less butadiene being produced. What exactly is the reason?
The main source of butadiene is cracking units. The use of lighter feedstocks in ethylene cracking units in North America and the Middle East has led to a reduction in the by-product of butadiene, resulting in tight supply conditions.
Based on what was said upstairs, the main reason is that the original process of producing ethylene from naphtha allows for the production of large amounts of butadiene as a by-product. However, recently North America and the Middle East have shifted to the ethane cracking process for producing ethylene; the vast majority of what is produced through ethane cracking is ethylene, with almost no butadiene generated, so demand for butadiene is on the rise. Last year, when I was monitoring the price of butadiene, I thought it was the high price of synthetic rubber, at around 34,000 to 35,000 yuan per ton, that was driving up the butadiene price as well. Now the price of synthetic rubber has dropped, but butadiene remains at a high level of 27,000. Additionally, the price of butadiene is heavily influenced by speculative activities; it is known as a \"devil commodity.\" Last year, its price dropped from 31,000 to 14,000, then rose back to 30,000 at one point, before falling again to 27,000 currently.
Very useful information; thank you both for your attention! Looking at it this way, those using butadiene rubber are left puzzled.
It is related to the rise in international crude oil prices, and there is also some factor of speculation by certain petrochemical companies