Ethylene is produced in the petrochemical industry by steam cracking. In this process, gaseous or light liquid hydrocarbons are heated to 750–950 °C, inducing numerous free radical reactions. Generally, in these reactions, large hydrocarbons break down in to smaller ones and satu-rated hydrocarbons become unsaturated. The result of this process is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons in which ethylene is one of the prin-cipal components. The mixture is separated by repeated compression and distillation.

In another process used in oil refineries large hydrocarbon molecules are cracked into smaller ones. Zeolite catalyst allows the cracking to be achieved at a lower temperature. Most ethylene is made by steam cracking a hydrocarbon feedstock at 815-900 degrees C and 2.0 atm.

Complete data on ethylene demand - supply, investments, end use in the YnFx Polyester Chain Report 2008 the recent edition published by YNFX

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The report contains 150 pages packed with up-to-date statistics and objective analysis of the trends and recent development of the polyester Industry covering the entire value chain beginning from ethylene further to intermediate – PTA & MEG, down to polyester fibre and filaments. The Report presents tabulation and graphical presentation of trends in demand and supply of polyester chain country-wise from 2003 to 2007 and projections upto 2013 for both fibre and filament. Processes description, end use and derivatives along with the latest producer-wise capacity are added feature of this report.