MTBE & Acetone

MTBE for gasoline blending and acetone for solvents and MMA

MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether, within HS 2909.19) is a gasoline blending component that raises octane and adds oxygen, bought by refiners, gasoline blenders and fuel traders. Its use depends on the destination: California banned MTBE in gasoline from 1999 and New Jersey became the 25th US state to ban gasoline containing MTBE in 2006, after leaking underground tanks contaminated groundwater, so MTBE is sold for blending into markets whose fuel standards permit it. It is UN 2398, Class 3 flammable liquid, packing group II. Acetone (HS 2914.11) comes mainly from the cumene-phenol process and goes into methyl methacrylate (MMA), bisphenol A, and solvents for paints, coatings, adhesives, inks, cleaning and pharmaceuticals. It is UN 1090, Class 3, and it is listed in Table II of the 1988 UN Convention on precursor chemicals, so importing countries commonly require a permit or end-user declaration. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2909.19, which also includes other acyclic ethers, total about USD 10.77 billion: the USA USD 3.27 billion, China USD 2.28 billion, Saudi Arabia USD 1.32 billion and 1.37 million MT, the Netherlands USD 1.04 billion, Singapore USD 285 million, Taiwan USD 195 million and Malaysia USD 62 million. Under HS 2914.11 acetone exports total about USD 1.34 billion: Taiwan USD 157 million, the Netherlands USD 122 million, Saudi Arabia USD 118 million, Korea USD 111 million and Singapore USD 103 million.

Saudi Red Sea supply comes from Yanbu, where YANSAB lists MTBE among its products, and Rabigh, where Petro Rabigh built a 160,000 MT a year acetone plant alongside phenol. MTBE moves in product and chemical tanker parcels and trades on Platts and Argus assessments (FOB Singapore, FOB Rotterdam, US Gulf), usually as a spread to gasoline; acetone moves in chemical-tanker parcels, ISO tanks and drums and trades on ICIS, Platts and Argus assessments and monthly contracts. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers MTBE and acetone from Saudi Red Sea, Singaporean, Dutch, Malaysian, Korean and Taiwanese producers' offtake and trader parcels, against the producer's certificate of analysis, SGS or Intertek inspection at load, safety data sheets, a certificate of origin, REACH registration confirmation for EU imports and precursor import documents where the destination requires them, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Send the product, volume, delivery form, destination and, for MTBE, the fuel standard it will be blended to.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.