This chart shows MTBE price assessments in USA Dollar per metric ton (USD/mt) in 5 locations, as follows:
- MTBE, US (United States): MTBE, export transaction price, fob, United States
- MTBE, CN (China): MTBE, domestic spot price, exw, China
- MTBE, SEA (Southeast Asia): MTBE, export spot price, fob, Singapore
- MTBE, EUR (Europe): MTBE, export spot price, fob, Netherlands
- MTBE, NEA (Northeast Asia): MTBE, export transaction price, fob, Taiwan
The chart above is a sample of Intratec Primary Commodity Prices. Subscribe and access now current prices of 225 commodities, including MTBE.
Data Use
MTBE 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
MTBE price assessments are available via different delivery methods:
- Online charts
- Directly into Excel (using Intratec Add-in)
- Power BI dashboards
- Web API (to facilitate integration with existing workflows)
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MTBE Price Outlook
MTBE Price Outlook. The price of MTBE (United States) decreased during June 2020 to 423 USD per metric ton, which represents a slight decline of 0.2% compared to the previous month’s value. On a year-over-year basis, the prices of MTBE (United States) decreased significantly by 35%. Meanwhile, the average price of MTBE (China) amounted to 544 USD per metric ton, from 703 USD per metric ton one year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the price of MTBE (China) is 5% higher than the price one month before.
The price of MTBE (Southeast Asia) rose considerably throughout June 2020, reaching 439 USD per metric ton. The price is 26% higher than the average price in the previous month and 26% lower than the average price one year before. In contrast, the prices of MTBE (Europe) increased significantly during June 2020, reaching 445 USD per metric ton, which means a rise of 79% from the previous month’s price and a decline of 26% from the previous year’s price.
The prices of MTBE (Northeast Asia) experienced a significant rise of 156 USD per metric ton from the prior month's price, to 390 USD per metric ton. Such price movement meant a rise of 67% on a monthly basis and a decrease of 37% on a yearly basis.
About MTBE
About MTBE. MTBE (a.k.a. Methyl tert-Butyl Ether) is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid with a minty smell. This ether is a major compound in the octane enhancer industry, its main application area. The remaining MTBE is used as a solvent and in the production of other chemical compounds. It is produced by the reaction of methanol and isobutylene (2-methyl-1-propene) in the liquid state.
The demand for MTBE largely increased in the late 1970s, amid the phase-out of lead as an octane enhancer. Indeed, MTBE low cost, high octane value, oxygen content, and easy incorporation into gasoline lead to a significant increase in its consumption in the 1980s, as a substitute for tetraethyl lead in gasoline. The use of MTBE was also stimulated by the governments to meet air quality goals since it reduces motor vehicle emissions, air toxic emissions, and pollutants that form ground-level ozone. Since then, MTBE has been mainly produced from mixed butylenes from ethylene crackers and from fluid catalytic crackers, catalytic butane dehydrogenation, or tert-butyl alcohol dehydration.
In the 1990s, concerns about the safety of using MTBE arose in light of contaminations of surface and groundwater, related to leakings from underground storage tanks and pipelines: the MTBE, having high solubility in water and low vapor pressure, readily transfers to the groundwater. In this context, since mid-2000s, gasoline manufacturers, to comply with new environmental legislation, started replacing MTBE by renewable, safer alternatives, mainly ethanol and ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl ether). Nowadays, MTBE is still used as a gasoline additive outside of the US, mainly in countries in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. In the United States, MTBE is used in the manufacture of high-purity isobutylene (HPIB), but most of its production targets export markets, mainly Latin America.
MTBE Production. MTBE production pathways are mainly related to the sources of isobutylene consumed. Four major sources of isobutylene are utilized: C4 stream (raffinate-1) from steam cracking units, C4 stream from refinery catalytic crackers after butadiene extraction, on purpose isomerization and dehydrogenation of butane to isobutylene, and the dehydration of tert-butyl alcohol. Raw materials and the respective production processes employed in the manufacturing of MTBE are listed below.
- Raffinate I/C4-stream, refinery + methanol (ether formation; coproduced with raffinate II),
- t-Butanol + methanol (Arco MTBE process),
- Isobutylene + methanol (ether formation)
MTBE is starting material for the manufacture of high-purity polymer-grade isobutylene (HPIB), used in turn in the production of butyl rubber and highly reactive polyisobutylene (HRPIB).