Propylene Oxide Prices | Current and Forecast
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Monitor monthly Propylene Oxide price assessments covering 3 locations: United States, Europe and China. Also check Propylene Oxide 10-year price history and forecasts.
The chart below is a sample of Intratec Primary Commodity Prices. Subscribe and access now current prices of 225 commodities, including Propylene Oxide.
Data Legend. The chart above shows Propylene Oxide price assessments in USA Dollar per metric ton (USD/mt) in 3 locations, as follows:
- Propylene Oxide, US (United States): Propylene Oxide, export transaction price, fob, United States
- Propylene Oxide, EUR (Europe): Propylene Oxide, contract price (formula), ddp, Northwest Europe
- Propylene Oxide, CN (China): Propylene Oxide, domestic spot price, exw, China
Data Use. Propylene Oxide prices are provided as an annual subscription where subscribers have access to reliable pricing data of 225 commodities worldwide. Intratec's methodology employs a structured big data strategy that utilizes advanced technologies to extract publicly available data from primary sources such as governmental trade records, statistics bureaus, and international agencies. This data is then processed through mathematical models to generate reliable assessments, published at the very beginning of each month. To better understand the data provided check Intratec Primary Commodity Prices Methodology .
Data Delivery Methods. Propylene Oxide price assessments are available via different delivery methods: (i) online charts; (ii) directly into Excel (using Intratec Add-in); (iii) in Power BI dashboards or (iv) a web API (to facilitate integration with existing workflows).
Intratec Primary Commodity Prices
Track global current prices of 225 commodities including Propylene Oxide
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Propylene Oxide Price Outlook. The price of Propylene Oxide (United States) increased during March 2020 to 1,110 USD per metric ton, which represents a slight rise of 4% compared to the previous month’s value. On a year-over-year basis, the prices of Propylene Oxide (United States) decreased significantly by 20%. Meanwhile, the average price of Propylene Oxide (China) amounted to 1,110 USD per metric ton, from 1,510 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the price of Propylene Oxide (China) is 14% lower than the price one month before.
The price of Propylene Oxide (Europe) declined considerably throughout March 2020, reaching 1,470 USD per metric ton. The price is 8% lower than the average price in the previous month and 16% lower than the average price one year before.
About Propylene Oxide. Propylene Oxide (a.k.a. PO, Epoxypropane, Methyl Oxirane) is a synthetic, highly-flammable, volatile, colorless liquid with ethereal odor that is soluble in water and miscible with most organic solvents. This organic, highly reactive compound is a major commodity chemical, as well as starting material for several products, from polymers and solvents to industrial fluids.
Propylene Oxide is produced mainly by the so-called chlorohydrin process, based on the reaction of propylene and chlorine in the presence of water to produce propylene chlorohydrin, which is dehydrochlorinated with a base. Liquor is used usually when the PO plant is integrated with a chlorine plant.
PO may also be produced on commercial scale by the oxidation of propylene by organic hydroperoxides, yielding alcohols as by-product. Depending on the hydroperoxide used, tert-butanol (raw material for MTBE) or 1-phenylethanol (raw material for styrene) may be generated as co-product. These processes, referred to as indirect oxidation routes, actually involve two steps where the first is the formation of the peroxide, and the second the epoxidation of propene to PO. It is worth noting that, in the indirect oxidation routes, the co-products are formed in larger amounts than PO itself, in such a way that existing markets for such co-products play a decisive role in a producer decision to use the chlorohydrin route or the indirect oxidation route.
Propylene Oxide Handling. Propylene Oxide should be stored in vessels made of steel or stainless steel, under an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen. It is usually transported in gravity or gas ships, railcars, tank trucks, and containers. Shipment by rail is done in tank cars with a capacity of 95.000 L and equipped with a 75-psig safety relief valve. Shipment by truck is done in steel tanks of about 20.800 L capacity, having a pressure rating of 15–35 psig. ISO tanks have a capacity of 22.700 L. All shipments of propylene oxide employ a nitrogen pad of 15–35 psig.
Propylene Oxide Production. As previously mentioned, there are primarily two main commercial routes for Propylene Oxide production: the chlorohydrin process, based on the dehydrochlorination of propylene chlorohydrin with a base, and the hydroperoxide process, based on the oxidation of propylene by an organic hydroperoxide with co-products generation. Raw materials and the respective production processes employed in the manufacturing of Propylene Oxide are listed below.
- Propylene + chlorine + base (chlorohydrin process),
- Propylene + organic hydroperoxide (indirect oxidation process, coproduced with alcohols),
- Cumene hydroperoxide + propylene (Sumitomo cumene process, coprodduced with cumene),
- Propylene + hydrogen peroxide (direct oxidation process)
Propylene Oxide Uses. The uses and applications of Propylene Oxide may vary according to its specification. The main forms of Propylene Oxide are chemical grade (ca. 8% propane); and polymer grade (ca. 0.3% propane).
