Propylene

Polymer-grade and chemical-grade propylene by the gas-carrier parcel

Propylene (HS 2901.22) trades in three grades and the grade decides the buyer. Polymer grade is 99.5% minimum, often 99.5-99.8%, with limits on ethylene, ethane, butadiene, dienes, methylacetylene and propadiene, sulphur, arsine, carbonyl sulphide, oxygen and water, and it is what a polypropylene reactor needs. Chemical grade is typically 92-95% propylene, the balance mostly propane, and suits acrylonitrile, oxo-alcohols, cumene and propylene oxide. Refinery grade is 50-70% propylene mixed with other light hydrocarbons, usually upgraded in a splitter before use. Supply comes from steam crackers, refinery fluid catalytic crackers and on-purpose units: propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plants make polymer-grade propylene from a propane-rich stream, and metathesis and methanol-to-olefins units add more. Propylene is UN 1077, Class 2.1 flammable gas, and moves under the IGC Code in semi-refrigerated gas carriers (1,500-30,000 m³, which the industry built for LPG, VCM, propylene and butadiene) and in fully refrigerated LPG carriers from export terminals with refrigeration. On the US Gulf, Enterprise added propylene exports at its Houston Ship Channel terminal in 2016 at 5,000 MT a day of refrigerated polymer-grade propylene from Mont Belvieu, and later added refrigeration for up to 67,200 barrels a day more. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2901.22 are led by Korea at USD 1.42 billion and 1.75 million MT, the Netherlands at USD 807 million and 0.76 million MT, Japan at USD 427 million and 0.57 million MT, Germany at USD 389 million, the USA at USD 377 million and 0.38 million MT, Spain at USD 191 million, Malaysia at USD 184 million and Italy at USD 157 million.

The buyer is a polypropylene, acrylonitrile, propylene oxide, cumene/phenol or oxo-alcohol plant with pressurised or refrigerated import storage, or a trader covering a cracker or PDH outage. Pricing is per MT against ICIS or Platts propylene assessments, CFR the discharge region or FOB the export terminal. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers propylene against the producer's certificate of quality stating the grade and impurity profile, SGS or Intertek inspection at load, the safety data sheet and a certificate of origin, with a named terminal on each side; the gas carrier is chartered through our shipbroking desk, LaycanDesk (laycandesk.com/chartering/lpg-lng-gas-carrier). Send the grade, parcel size, receiving terminal and whether it takes pressurised or refrigerated cargo.

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.