Energy and natural resources
Steam cracker
A plant that breaks hydrocarbons into ethylene and other building-block chemicals using steam and heat.
Last reviewedWhat does Steam cracker mean?
A steam cracker heats a feedstock such as ethane or naphtha with steam to very high temperatures, around 850 degrees Celsius, which breaks (cracks) the molecules into smaller ones such as ethylene and propylene. These are the building blocks for plastics and many other chemicals, which makes crackers the heart of a petrochemical complex. Example: cracking ethane gives mostly ethylene, roughly 0.8 tonnes per tonne of feed, while cracking naphtha gives about 0.3 tonnes of ethylene plus propylene, butadiene and other products. Crackers are very large and costly, so profit depends on high utilization and on the spread between product and feedstock prices.
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Related terms
- FeedstockThe raw material fed into a process, such as naphtha or ethane for a chemical plant.
- Capacity utilizationActual output as a share of the most that could be produced.
- Operating leverageHow much profit swings when revenue changes, because of fixed costs.
- Economies of scaleCost per unit falls as volume rises.
- Barrel of oil equivalent (boe)A unit that converts gas into barrels of oil by energy content, so oil and gas can be added together.
- Lifting costThe cost of producing oil or gas from wells that already exist, per barrel.
- Full-cycle breakevenThe oil price a project needs to cover all its costs, including building it, and earn its required return.
- Fiscal breakeven oil priceThe oil price a government needs to balance its budget.