technology

One-step butadiene synthesis

Single-reactor catalytic process converting bioethanol directly into 1,3-butadiene without an intermediate acetaldehyde reactor.

Where it's used

Biosynthetic butadiene
Renewable routes to 1,3-butadiene, the C4 monomer behind synthetic rubber and ABS plastics, via two competing chemistries: catalytic bioethanol-to-butadiene conversion (Axens/Michelin/IFPEN's BioButterfly, ETB Global in the Netherlands) and methane gas fermentation (BioVerde Tech and Unibio in a 2026 partnership) — both still at demonstration or early-pilot scale, with no confirmed Chinese or Indian commercial originator as of 2026.
platform-chemicals 7 min