Production of chloroprene today is completely determined by demand for the
polymer. The only other use accounting for a significant volume is the synthesis of 2,3-
dichloro-1,3-butadiene, which is used as a monomer in selected copolymerizations with
chloroprene. The original commercial production was from acetylene through monovinylacetylene.
Since the 1960s, because of the increasing price of acetylene and
decreasing price of butadiene, the latter has displaced acetylene as the feedstock in most
countries (Kleinschmidt, 1986; Stewart, 1993).