Description
Ethene (ethylene) is the most important organic chemical, by tonnage, that is manufactured. It is the building block for a vast range of chemicals from plastics to antifreeze solutions and solvents.
Figure 1 On the site at Grangemouth in Scotland, ethene is produced by steam cracking of naphtha.
By the kind permission of INEOS Manufacturing Scotland.
Uses of ethene (ethylene)
The principal uses of ethene are to produce:
a) polymers
- poly(ethene)
- chloroethene (vinyl chloride) and hence poly(chloroethene), i.e. poly(vinylchloride), PVC
- ethylbenzene and hence phenylethene and poly(phenylethene), i.e. polystyrene
b) other chemicals
- epoxyethane and hence the diols, such as ethane-1,2-diol
- ethanol
The manufacture of polymers is the main use of ethene. Poly(ethene) accounts for about 60% of the world demand for ethene (HDPE 28%, LLDPE 18%, LDPE 14%), while dichloro-1,2-ethane, the precursor for chloroethene and thence PVC, accounts for a further 11%. Ethylbenzene, the route to poly(phenylethene), uses another 5%1.
Annual production of ethene (ethylene)
| World | 134 million tonnes1 |
| Asia Pacific | 50 million tonnes1 |
| The U.S. | 25 million tonnes2 |
| Europe | 20 million tonnes3 |
| Middle East | 20 million tonnes1 |
Data from:
1. Calculated from data, Nexant, and ChemVision. Estimated data for 2014
2. 2015 Guide to the Business of Chemistry, American Chemistry Council 2016. Data for 2014
3. Petrochemicals Europe 2016. Data for 2015
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