Butane is bulk commodity, colorless, odorless, and shapeless gaseous hydrocarbon, which is extracted from gas processing plants as a byproduct of crude oil production and refining. The carbon compounds linked in straight line is normal butane, and those linked in branched-chain form is iso-butane. n-butane is added to gasoline to increase its volatility.
These compounds occur in natural gas and crude oil forming large quantities in the refining of petroleum to produce gasoline. The butanes in natural gas can be extracted from the huge quantities by absorption in light oil. Butane produced from crude oil and natural gas production accounts for approximately 55% of the total butane produced globally.
However, this percentage varies with region; for example, in North America, the butane produced from reservoirs accounts for 80% of the total butane production whereas in Asia Pacific it accounts for only 10% of the total production. Butane may be recovered as an associated gas during crude oil production along with other heavier gases such as ethane, propane, iso-butane, pentane and pentane plus.
These gases in combination are recovered from the reservoir in the form of liquid and are termed as natural gas liquids (NGL). Rapid NGL development in the U.S. is expected to ensure continuous supply of butane for considerable amount of time.
From the demand perspective, massive petrochemical capacity expansion is taking place in Middle East which is expected to drive demand for butanes over the forecast period. Butane is used in various application areas including LPG as commercial & residential, chemical, refinery, industrial, petrochemicals, industrial, and auto fuel sectors.
In-depth report on global butane market by Grand View Research: