The independent system for n-butane has not yet taken shape, and demand continues to rise

Thread Content

A separate market for n-butane has not yet been established; demand for it continues to grow. Since the large-scale deployment of alkylation units, the n-butane market has rapidly seen an influx of this product as it operates in conjunction with gas separation units. There are also separate downstream processing facilities, but a distinct market structure has not yet been formed. Figure 1 shows that butane follows a trend very similar to that of household gas; with few exceptions, butane is generally more expensive than household gas by around 100 yuan per ton. This is mainly because the demand for n-butane as an industrial raw material is moderate, and the requirements for its quality are high; not all n-butane can be used as a raw material. Production capacity also relies on demand from the consumer market, and it is not possible to operate entirely independent of that consumer demand, thus forming a fully separate market mechanism. Figure 2: The n-butane shown in Figure 2 is of high purity; over 90% of it can be used to meet the requirements of downstream processes such as those involving maleic anhydride. As shown in the figure, the relationship between output and price remains weak. This is mainly because butane, as a by-product of alkylation and refining units, sees its production volume influenced by changes in the target products of those units. Factors such as the sudden reduction in production by refinery units due to policy pressures, and the increase in unit load driven by rising demand in target markets, have only a minimal impact on butane prices, which remain largely influenced by the factors shown in Figure 1. Figure 3: Demand drives the market, and this has always been a catalyst for the development of the gas deep processing industry chain. The formation of the independent tetra-carbon system after etherification, as well as the process by which n-butane and isobutane gradually transform from components into product monomers, both support this view. However, unlike other deeply processed gas products, butane’s downstream applications have mainly been in fine chemicals such as maleic anhydride; as a result, the volume of its output has not been able to match upstream demand, and its potential for growth remains limited even in the future. As shown in Figure 3, the emergence of another set of upstream and downstream facilities—n-butane isomerization—has increased the industrial demand for n-butane. Current and future demand levels are expected to reach over 2 million tons per year, which will contribute to the industrial development of n-butane.