Butadiene shortages loom as plastics manufacturers switch their feedstock to less expensive light feed. Estimates suggest it could be as little as 7% over the next decade if  only North American industry shifts to gas feedstocks, or as much as 27% if Europe and Asia embrace the trend.

To recoup the shortage, petrochemical and engineering companies are partnering on-purpose production facilities.

In Europe, BASF and Linde have announced plans to pool their expertise, starting with a mini plant and pilot plant operation in Ludwigshafen. No date for commercialization has yet been given.

In another project, which the partners claim is more advanced, Honeywell is partnering with Houston, Texas-based TPC Group on an on-purpose commercial-scale butadiene plant due on stream in 2017 or 2018.

The US companies plan to have technology ready by year end and are already talking with potential licensees, Jim Rekoske, petrochemical global business director for Honeywell's UOP unit, said in an interview with the trade journal Hydrocarbon Processing.  Demand could require as many as 20 to 30 plants worldwide, he said.

While ethane and naphtha both yield ethylene, ethane yields only about 14% of the butadiene that comes from naphtha processing. Ethane also yields less propylene and benzene.

Butadiene prices climbed to $1,499/t in April 2014 from $1,190/t in December 2013, according to Nexant data compiled by Bloomberg. The chemical's highest price was in recent years was to $3,858/t in August 20112, its lowest was $610 in June 2009.

Several Chinese plants with unproven technology are being built for on-purpose butadiene production, according to Rekoske. Two are expected to begin operation this year.