What is the tonnage threshold for REACH on propylene (propene)?

Registration required for any importer or manufacturer placing >1 t/year on the EU market

CAS 115-07-1 · REACH · European Union

Propylene (propene) under REACH

C3H6 · 丙烯

Status: Registered. Propylene is fully registered under REACH at the highest tonnage band (>1,000,000 tonnes/year). **Distinguishing pattern: foundational C3 olefin (~120 to 130 Mt/yr globally) feeding polypropylene batch 47 (~65 percent of demand), propylene oxide batch 29 (~10 percent), acrylic acid batch 39 (~6 percent), acrylonitrile batch 38 (~7 percent), n-butanol plus 2-EH oxo-alcohols (~5 percent), cumene route to phenol batch 13 plus acetone batch 15 (~5 percent), other (~2 percent) + steam-cracker C3 fraction (~70 percent globally) plus FCC refinery off-gas (~25 percent) plus PDH propane dehydrogenation route (~5 percent and growing) + Flam. Gas 1A plus Press. Gas plus simple-asphyxiant only + Hengli plus Zhejiang Petrochemical plus Shenghong Chinese mega-complex capacity drive (NEW combined).** Reg (EC) 1272/2008 harmonised: Flam. Gas 1A (H220) plus Press. Gas. NOT SVHC. NOT Annex XIV. NO active EU AD case on Chinese-origin propylene currently (largely irrelevant due to bulk-trade constraint; verify against EUR-Lex https://eur-lex.europa.eu/ before invoicing).

Propylene is fully REACH-registered with **light occupational hazard** (Flam. Gas 1A plus Press. Gas plus simple asphyxiant only). NOT SVHC, NOT Annex XIV, NOT in CBAM Phase 1, NO active EU AD case. **Propylene is structurally bulk-trade-limited**: most propylene is captive within integrated steam-cracker / refinery / PDH complexes feeding directly into polypropylene batch 47 (~65 percent of demand) plus propylene oxide batch 29 (~10 percent) plus acrylic acid batch 39 (~6 percent) plus acrylonitrile batch 38 (~7 percent) plus oxo-alcohols (~5 percent) plus cumene route to phenol batch 13 plus acetone batch 15 (~5 percent). Major Chinese producers: Sinopec multi-site, CNPC, Hengli Petrochemical Dalian, Zhejiang Petrochemical Zhoushan / ZRCC, Shenghong Petrochemical Lianyungang Xuwei, Wanhua Chemical Yantai. Production: steam-cracker C3 fraction (~70 percent globally) plus FCC off-gas (~25 percent) plus PDH (~5 percent and growing).

Listing and threshold

Substance	Propylene (propene) (CAS 115-07-1), C3H6
Regime	EU Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
Jurisdiction	European Union (EU-27 plus EEA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway)
Status	Registered
Tonnage threshold	Registration required for any importer or manufacturer placing >1 t/year on the EU market

Classifications under this regime

Harmonised CLP classification: Flam. Gas 1A (H220, "extremely flammable gas"), Press. Gas (compressed / liquefied), simple asphyxiant
Signal word: DANGER
GHS pictograms: GHS02 (flame), GHS04 (gas cylinder)
IARC: Group 3 (not classifiable; verify against https://monographs.iarc.who.int/list-of-classifications)
NOT subject to Drug Precursors or Explosives Precursors scheduling
ADR / RID transport classification: Class 2.1 (flammable gas), UN 1077 (propylene), refrigerated liquefied or compressed

Restrictions and conditions of use

NOT on REACH Annex XIV (Authorisation list); verify against ECHA https://echa.europa.eu/authorisation-list
NOT classified as SVHC (verify against ECHA https://echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table)
NOT subject to any Annex XVII restriction at industrial-grade level
NO active EU AD case on Chinese-origin propylene currently (bulk-trade structurally limited; verify against EUR-Lex before invoicing)
NOT in CBAM Phase 1 scope (CBAM Phase 1 is restricted to cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen per Reg (EU) 2023/956)
EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) requires permitting for installations producing propylene above declared thresholds

Importer obligations

A non-EU producer cannot register directly under REACH. The EU importer of record must hold a registration or rely on an Only Representative (OR). **Propylene is structurally bulk-trade-limited at international scale**: most propylene is captive within integrated steam-cracker / refinery / PDH complexes feeding directly into PP plus PO plus AN plus oxo plus cumene downstream. International trade is dominated by short-haul intra-regional movements in dedicated refrigerated gas tankers, not ISO containers. Major Chinese producers (Sinopec multi-site plus CNPC plus Hengli Petrochemical Dalian plus Zhejiang Petrochemical Zhoushan / ZRCC plus Shenghong Petrochemical Lianyungang Xuwei plus Wanhua Chemical Yantai) compete with EU producers (Shell Chemicals plus BASF plus INEOS plus ExxonMobil) plus US producers (ExxonMobil plus Dow plus LyondellBasell plus Phillips 66 / CP Chem) plus Korean producers (LG Chem plus Lotte Chemical plus Hanwha Solutions plus GS Caltex plus S-Oil) (verify each company-site pair against the producer's public website before relying on a specific plant).

Required documents

REACH registration number on the EU side (registrant or OR-appointed)
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) compliant with REACH Annex II in destination Member State language(s) reflecting H220 classification
CLP-compliant labelling with GHS02 plus GHS04 pictograms and DANGER signal word
Customs entry with HS code 290122 (propylene)
ADR consignment note for transport (Class 2.1, UN 1077, refrigerated liquefied or compressed)

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

**Propylene is structurally bulk-trade-limited**: most propylene is captive within integrated steam-cracker / refinery / PDH complexes; international trade is short-haul intra-regional in dedicated gas tankers
**Foundational C3 olefin** feeding polypropylene batch 47 (~65 percent of demand) plus propylene oxide batch 29 (~10 percent) plus acrylic acid batch 39 (~6 percent) plus acrylonitrile batch 38 (~7 percent) plus oxo-alcohols (~5 percent) plus cumene route to phenol batch 13 plus acetone batch 15 (~5 percent)
Light occupational hazard (Flam. Gas 1A plus Press. Gas plus simple asphyxiant only); IARC Group 3
NO active EU AD case on Chinese propylene currently
NOT in CBAM Phase 1
Major Chinese producers: Sinopec multi-site, CNPC, Hengli Petrochemical Dalian, Zhejiang Petrochemical Zhoushan / ZRCC, Shenghong Petrochemical Lianyungang Xuwei, Wanhua Chemical Yantai; China dominates global propylene capacity (verify the most recent Mt/yr and percent-of-global share against ICIS or S&P Commodity Insights before quoting; prior industry reports cited a 35 to 40 percent share at ~50 Mt/yr)
Production routes: steam-cracker C3 fraction (~70 percent globally) plus FCC refinery off-gas (~25 percent) plus PDH propane dehydrogenation (~5 percent and growing rapidly with US shale-derived propane export advantage)

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for propylene (propene), see the CAS 115-07-1 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the propylene (propene) cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of REACH, see the REACH glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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