NOVA Chemicals produces a significant quantity of propylene, mixed butadiene-butenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, blended fuels and hydrogen gas as co-products from our ethylene production. The majority of our co-products come from our Corunna, Ontario, site, due to the fact that our ethane crackers at Joffre, Alberta, are designed for maximum ethylene yields using light gas feedstocks and, therefore, generate fewer co-products.

At our flexi-cracker in Corunna, we have the capability to adjust our feedstocks and operating conditions to produce more or less of these co-products, based on business conditions at any point in time. Market prices for our co-products tend to be tied to energy prices — higher energy prices can translate into increased co-product revenues. The following lists NOVA Chemicals' principal co-products and their typical uses:

Benzene - an aromatic hydrocarbon, used as a solvent and raw material in styrene and specialty chemicals

Butadiene - a liquefied hydrocarbon gas, also known as mixed C4, used as a raw material for chemicals, elastomers, plastics and rubbers

C5 Mixture - a hydrocarbon mixture, also known as "hydrocarbons C5 Rich", used as a raw material for industrial chemicals and rubbers

 

C9 Resin Oil - an aromatic hydrocarbon, used in industrial applications such as printing inks, adhesives and rubber production

Carbon Dioxide - an inorganic gas, used for enhanced oil recovery and as a fire suppressant

Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) - a hydrocarbon, used in specialty products such as polyester resins, adhesives, coatings, varnishes and specialty chemicals

Fuel products - used in light and heavy diesels, home heating oils, industrial lubricant production and blended gasoline products

Hydrogen - an inorganic gas, used as a fuel gas and petrochemical feedstock; purified hydrogen is used in agricultural fertilizers

Petrocarb^® - a heavy pyrolysis hydrocarbon fuel oil used in industry fuel, pipe coatings and pitch and aluminum anode manufacturing

Propylene - a liquefied hydrocarbon gas, used as a raw material for manufacturing polypropylene, acrylonitrile and other polymers

Toluene/Xylene - an aromatic hydrocarbon, used in gasoline blends and as a feedstock for industrial chemicals and solvents