Production of Ethylene and its Commercial Importance in the Global Market

Abstract

Ethylene is the largest of the olefin markets and is also one of the most important petrochemically derived monomers that are used as a feedstock for the production of various commercially useful chemical products (e.g. polyethylene, polymers, fibers etc.). The primary objective of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview about olefins particularly ethylene production technologies and its commercial significance in the world market. The content of this chapter is presented as follows: a general overview about olefins production is given. This is followed by introducing the reader to ethylene including its properties importance/applications. The next section describes the production technologies of ethylene and some of its selected derivatives, followed by an overview of the technology, market, costs, capacity, global demand and supply of ethylene technology. Finally, main points and outlook of this highly industrially important commodity chemical are summarized.