Propylene Oxide Price | Current and Forecast
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See 5 monthly Propylene Oxide price assessments covering 5 locations: United States, South America, Europe, Southeast Asia and China. Also check Propylene Oxide price history since 2007 and forecasts. The chart below is a sample of Intratec Primary Commodity Prices - subscribe now and gain access to current prices of 226 commodities, including Propylene Oxide.
Data Legend. The Propylene Oxide price chart shows the prices in USA Dollar per metric ton (USD/mt) as follows:
- US: Propylene Oxide, United States, transaction, fob
- SAM: Propylene Oxide, South America, transaction, cif, Brazil
- EUR: Propylene Oxide, Europe, transaction, fob, Netherlands
- SEA: Propylene Oxide, Southeast Asia, transaction, fob, Singapore
- CN: Propylene Oxide, China, spot, exw
Data Use. Propylene Oxide prices are provided as an annual subscription where subscribers have access to reliable pricing data of 226 commodities worldwide. To better understand data provided by Intratec Primary Commodity Prices, check the following documents: Price Assessment Basis , Commodities Specifications , Methodology , User Guide , and Glossary .
Intratec Primary Commodity Prices
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Price Dynamics. The Propylene Oxide price in United States increased during December 2018 to 1,470 USD per metric ton, which represents a considerable rise of 18% compared to the previous month’s value. On a year-over-year basis, Propylene Oxide prices in United States increased modestly by 3%. Meanwhile, in Netherlands, the average price of Propylene Oxide amounted to 1,290 USD per metric ton, from 1,270 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the Propylene Oxide price in Netherlands is 7% lower than the price one month before.
The price of Propylene Oxide in China rose considerably throughout December 2018, reaching 1,910 USD per metric ton. The price in China is 16% higher than the average price in the previous month and 5% lower than the average price one year before. In contrast, Propylene Oxide prices in Singapore decreased significantly during December 2018, reaching 1,220 USD per metric ton, which means a decline of 16% from the previous month’s price and a decline of 20% from the previous year’s price.
The Propylene Oxide prices in Brazil experienced a significant rise of 470 USD per metric ton from the prior month's price, to 1,520 USD per metric ton. Such price movement in Brazil meant a rise of 45% on a monthly basis and a rise of 27% on a yearly basis.
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 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.
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)
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).
