An Overview of Ethylene

What Is Ethylene?

Ethylene, the chemical formula is C2H4, the molecular weight is 28.06.

Ethylene is one of the largest chemical products in the world, and the ethylene industry is the core of the petrochemical industry. Ethylene products account for more than 75% of petrochemical products and occupy an important position in the national economy.

Ethylene Uses

As an important fossil raw material

Ethylene is a key petrochemical feedstock, used to make polyethylene (PE), ethylene glycol (EG) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) among other products. Read more here: https://www.echemi.com/cms/67760.html

Ethylene in plants

Ethylene is present in certain tissues and organs of plants; it is a proven plant hormone and also used as a ripening agent for fruits and vegetables.

The Latest Ethylene Industrial News

1）The core competitiveness of China's first ethane-to-ethylene integrated project 

On August 2, the Lanzhou Petrochemical Company's Changqing ethane-to-ethylene project was put into operation. After 28 hours of production and operation, qualified ethylene products were produced in the afternoon of the 3rd.

2）ExxonMobil's Huizhou Ethylene Project Is in Full Swing 

On November 16, the comprehensive construction activities of ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project were held simultaneously in Huizhou Daya Bay, Beijing, and Houston in the United States via live +5G video connection.

3）600,000 tons! Another ethane to ethylene project started successfully 

Following the successful start-up of the Changqing Ethane-to-Ethylene Project, within one month, another ethane-to-ethylene project of PetroChina was successfully started up!

4）1.6 Million Tons of Ethylene + 2.65 Million Tons of Polyolefins! ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project Is Fully Constructed

On November 8, Exxon Mobil just announced its decision to invest in the construction of a petrochemical complex project in Huizhou, and only a week has passed.  On the morning of November 16, the comprehensive construction activities of the ExxonMobil Huizhou Ethylene Project with a total investment of about 10 billion U.S. dollars were held in Huizhou Daya Bay, Beijing, and Houston in the United States at the same time, marking that the project's production equipment has entered a full formal construction stage. 

5）800,000 Tons/Year Steam Cracking Ethylene Plant of Zhongke Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd. 

Zhongke Refinery's ethylene cracking furnace adopts Sinopec CBL patented technology, which has high raw material flexibility and is suitable for the cracking of complex raw materials. NOx (nitrogen oxide) emissions are less than 70 mg/standard cubic meter.

6）Daqing Petrochemical's annual ethylene output exceeded one million tons for 6 consecutive years

During the National Day, Daqing Petrochemical cadres and employees stuck to their posts and worked hard to produce 22,500 tons of ethylene. As of September 26, the company's ethylene output this year exceeded 1 million tons.

7）Zhenhai Refinery's 27 Million t/a Oil Refining And 2.2 Million t/a Ethylene Units Are Fully Operational 

On January 7, the ethylene plant of the first phase project of Sinopec Zhenhai Base produced qualified products. So far, the first-phase project of Zhenhai Base has completed the overall start-up.

8）Japan's Ethylene Production to Grow 6.9% in 2021

Recently, the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association released statistics showing that in 2021, Japan's ethylene production will reach 6.33 million tons, an increase of 6.6% over 2020.

9) State Council: No new coal-to-olefin, ethylene and other projects are allowed without planning!

Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council’s "Opinions on the Complete, Accurate and Comprehensive Implementation of the New Development Concept to Do a Good Job in Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" proposed to resolutely curb the blind development of energy-intensive and high-emission projects.

10) Ethylene consumption will peak around 2030 

Qu Liang, a senior engineer at the China National Petroleum Corporation Planning and Planning Institute, pointed out. Since 2014, polyolefins have maintained a high level of return on investment, leading to a flood of domestic capital. 2020-2025 will usher in an unprecedented peak of capacity release.

Global Market Ethylene Price Trends

For comprehensive price charts and analysis reports, you can go refer here: https://www.echemi.com/productsInformation/pid_Rock16565-ethene.html

Worrying prospects for the global ethylene market 

Since the peak of ethylene prices caused by the hurricane in September this year, the price of ethylene in the United States has fallen, while the price of raw material ethane has risen, which has led to a decline in the profitability of US ethylene production.

US October ethylene contracts settle up 0.75 cent/lb 

The settlement puts October ethylene contracts at 29.75 cents/lb ($656/tonne), as average spot prices rose and cracker cash costs were mostly flat. At least one participant did not settle October contracts at that price. 

The market price of ethylene impacts chemical market 

This month, the prices of raw material ethylene and acetic acid have been lowered overall, and the price of calcium carbide has risen. Therefore, although the profits of the ethylene process have increased, the profits of the calcium carbide process are still losing more. The price of ethylene has dropped significantly, dragging down the domestic pure Benzene market, and the pressure of supply and demand in the pure benzene market is still relatively large, which impacts the confidence of the domestic market to a certain extent.

US August ethylene contracts delayed amid higher production costs 

Average ethylene spot prices rose, with front-month ethylene on the Nova system trading at 16.75-19.50 cents/lb in August, compared with 12.50-16.00 cents/lb in July. 

Ethylene: a year-on-year increase of 143.91%! 

Ethylene was quoted at RMB 7477.4/ton, a year-on-year increase of 143.91%. Affected by the rise in upstream crude oil prices, the ethylene market may be dominated by the rise in the later period.

Last but not least, here is an excellent ethylene manufacturer on ECHEMI that we highly recommend, which is Hebei Yanxi Chemical Co., Ltd. 

Hebei Yanxi Chemical Co., Ltd.is a large group corporation which engaged in the R&D and manufacture of chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and intermediates, and have developed to a very famous group corporation Enterprise in chemical industry step by step.

Hebei Yanxi Chemical Co., Ltd. is a global chemical industry manufacturers and suppliers of pharmaceuticals and intermediates in China. The yearly production capacity is 50000MT, 80% for export.