Ethane

Ethane is a colorless, odorless gas which isolated from natural gas, and as a byproduct of petroleum refining. The main use of ethane is as petrochemical feedstock for ethylene production. US ethane supply has massively increased in the wake of the shale gas revolution. With prices dropping, and domestic transportation infrastructure coming online, this critical feedstock has become more domestically abundant than ever before. This has triggered billion dollar investment projects by petrochemical companies in expanded ethylene production and lighter feedstock, switching from naphtha to ethane, to capture the superior economics and improved pricing margins.