May 6 2013
According to a recent report by energy analysts GBI Research, U.S. companies imported 329,118 tons of butadiene in 2012.
Butadiene Extraction Plant Supports Demand in Major Markets. (PRNewsFoto/International Process Plants)
The leading butadiene suppliers were Canada, South Korea, Netherlands, China, the U.K. and Germany. The report forecasts U.S. demand to rise to 524,916 tons by 2020.
International Process Plants announces a butadiene extraction plant for sale. The plant uses a C4 feedstock and DMF solvent in a Lurgi-installed Nippon Zeon GPB extractive distillation process to produce 90,000 tons/year of 1,3-butadiene with a purity above 99.6%.
"Many major markets, including the U.S., are expected to be net importers of butadiene for the significant future," says IPP Director of Plants Michael Joachim . "Suppliers to these markets with access to additional butadiene-rich C4 feedstocks that have a high share of alkynes may want to consider purchasing an existing butadiene plant that has one of the modern extractive distillation processes that includes an alkyne separation stage, such as the Nippon Zeon GBP. Given reports that new plants with smaller capacities cost as much as $50 million USD, existing plants represent the opportunity to significantly increase capacity at a small fraction of the cost of building new."