Cost Comparison & Contract Strategies for On-Purpose Propylene Production Technologies in the US

The whitepaper elaborates on the various on-purpose propylene production technologies such as metathesis, PDH, coal gasification and gas reformation in the US. Cost driver analysis, scenario analysis and break even analysis have been performed for all the production technologies under study. The whitepaper gives a brief overview of the contract strategies that can be adopted by end users of propylene. The pros and cons of the different production techniques in terms of capital investment, production cost, yield and raw material price fluctuations have been discussed and key suggestions for end users of propylene have been mentioned. Based on the cost analysis, the future of on-purpose propylene production technology has been suggested. Propylene is the raw material for a wide variety of products, and has established itself as a major member of the global olefins business, coming only second to ethylene. Globally, the largest volume of propylene is produced in steam crackers and through the fluid-catalytic cracking (FCC) process. For many years, propylene was typically considered a co-product in these processes, which are primarily driven by ethylene and motor gasoline production respectively. However, a shift to lighter steam cracker feedstock with relatively lower propylene yields and reduced motor gasoline demand in certain areas has created an imbalance of supply and demand for propylene. As a result, new and novel lower-cost chemical processes for on-purpose propylene production technologies are intriguing to the petrochemical marketplace. Such processes include: Metathesis, Propane Dehydrogenation, Methanol-to-Olefins/Methanol-to-Propylene, High Severity FCC, and Olefins Cracking.