This paper reviews issues related to butadiene production via bio-ethanol conversion from the days of Lebedev until today. A catalogue of catalytic systems proposed till date were identified; the inevitable role of various dopants in enhancing catalytic activity, physico-chemical analysis of certain catalytic trends and prospects for the development of the old process by the implementation of process initiators and the use of new generation catalysts with higher performance and better tolerance to coking problems, and the impact of shale gas exploitation on the supply and demand of butadiene were also discussed.

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Isoprene is a valuable monomer for the rubber and most chemical industries. The five carbon monomer is used to make synthetic latex similar to the natural and it is becoming a monomer of choice because of the possibility to manipulate its properties. The rapid development of synthetic rubber is a result of the huge demand for this material. Currently, SR is used practically in all spheres of industry and national economy with its global production exceeding 1.3 million tons per year In this paper, various methods for its production and their shortfalls were studied; the prospect for isoprene production from bio-ethanol was also highlighted.