Butadiene production and demand balance to the market transition

China's butadiene production capacity will reach 1,370,000 tons, has been able to meet domestic demand. With an annual output of about 2010 to 1,510,000 tons, may be resulting in a surplus supply. In the face of market changes and the inevitable arrival of the challenges, butadiene can no longer simply the pursuit of the expansion of capacity, but should focus on quality improvement.

Butadiene is an important petrochemical-based raw materials derived from the production of ethylene steam cracker by-product of the four fractions of carbon, mainly used in the production of synthetic rubber and synthetic resin. The main synthetic rubber products, such as butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, SBS are flexible-butadiene as the main raw material. China's current consumption structure, butadiene for synthetic rubber accounting for 84%. As a result, butadiene synthetic rubber prices to a large extent depend on the market.

As we all know, the main synthetic rubber used in automotive industry, automobile tires, spare parts must be used in synthetic rubber, and the rapid development of China's auto industry, total output last year reached 5,708,000, up 12.6 percent. Not only for the auto industry has great demand for synthetic rubber, the production of a variety of hose, the tape business also requires a large amount of synthetic rubber as a raw material. China's good economic situation, increase investment in infrastructure, all major construction projects such as the Three Gorges Project, South-North Water Diversion, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, East West electricity transmission and the Olympic Games in Beijing, have promoted the consumption of synthetic rubber demand. In 1995, China's apparent consumption of butadiene, only 410,000 tons, in 2004 increased to 1,060,000 tons. This year is expected to be about 1,170,000 tons in 2010 to reach about 1,440,000 tons. However, China's butadiene production capacity and production can not meet domestic demand and have a large number of imports each year. By the end of 2004, China's butadiene plant a total of 19 sets, with an annual output capacity of 1,020,000 tons, butadiene made in 2004 for 870,000 tons, imported 190,000 tons of imports last year compared with growth of about 44% Domestic consumption accounts for 18%. China's industry, butadiene, it should be said that at the moment is a rare opportunity.

Despite China's shortage of Butadiene yet, but analysts pointed out that the trend is to change the basic balance between supply and demand. Internationally, many countries and regions of excess production capacity, industry butadiene add the color of depression. "Scenery here is fine," China is bound to become their marketing objectives, so as to bring supply and demand on the domestic impact. Along with the existing ethylene large-scale technical transformation of enterprises and Sino-foreign joint venture ethylene projects put into operation one after another, China's butadiene production capacity will be increased rapidly. Last year, commercial operations and the integration of BASF-YPC in Nanjing and Shanghai SECCO project to increase the butadiene production capacity 90,000 tons, the beginning of this year's production in Guangdong CSPC project is to increase butadiene production capacity 120,000 tons. Blue Star Chemical, and Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company is building a new butadiene, is expected this year, China's butadiene production capacity will reach 1,370,000 tons, has been able to meet domestic demand. 2010 is expected to reach about 1,510,000 tons, from the predictable situation, there may be an over-supply.

Butadiene domestic industry even in the absence of fear, and there should be a long and short term. In the face of market changes and the inevitable arrival of the challenges, can no longer simply the pursuit of volume expansion should focus on quality improvement. To pass on the transformation of the existing production facilities to reduce energy consumption and materials. To increase the development of new technology, and actively open up new sources of raw materials, while improving the level of automation and control devices, so that China's butadiene production technology to a new level, in the inevitable market competition.