Ethane molecule (C2H6)
Ethane is an interesting NGL (natural gas liquid). It's one of the compounds that comes out of the ground as a gas along with methane. Ethane gas can be liquefied under pressure or at reduced temperatures and separated from methane (natural gas). However, liquefied ethane is not burned, like another NGL called propane. Instead, liquefied ethane is used as a feedstock in big cracker plants like the Shell cracker in Monaca, PA. The ethane is "cracked" and turned into plastics. However, if the price ethane fetches is lower than the cost of methane, the ethane gas is left in the methane gas stream and burned along with methane (called "rejection"). The analysts at RBN Energy have noticed that the price of ethane is now below the price of natgas and theorize more ethane rejection (leaving it in the methane stream) may be on the way.
