Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) (2020 Program)

PBT, a commercially important engineering polymer, is commonly made by the direct esterification of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) with 1,4 butanediol (BDO), followed by polycondensation.  This report includes an analysis of PBTs markets, end-uses, and production technologies.  Production economics were prepared for world-scale continuous and batch production plants using composite PBT technologies; both routes from DMT and PTA were modelled.  The analysis was prepared for plants located in the U. S. Gulf Coast, Western Europe, and Coastal China.