New Butadiene Technology Ready for Commercial Development

A new technology for manufacturing butadiene from butenes has been developed and tested by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC). Production in a pilot plant at the company’s Mizushima facility in Japan has already begun, and MCC states it is proceeding with plans to industrialise the new production technology within the coming year.

Butadiene is mainly used as a monomer in the production of a wide range of polymers and co-polymers, as well as in the production of several intermediate chemicals. The largest single use for butadiene is in the production of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), which is principally used in the manufacture of tyres. The demand for butadiene has expanded recently, and MCC says its new production technology will enable butadiene supplying capacity to meet the rising demand for all butadiene-related products.