Bayer to build isocyanates facilities in Europe
17 Oct 2008
Isocyanate production also to be expanded in Europe in the medium term. Startup of advanced process 350 ktpa MDI train, groundbreaking for 250ktpa TDI plant
Shanghai, China – Bayer MaterialScience is to build a new world-scale plant for TDI (toluene diisocyanate) with an annual capacity of 300 kilotonnes per anum (ktpa). The plant is slated for construction at the company's Dormagen/Uerdingen integrated site in Germany and will replace the existing TDI plants at the Dormagen and Brunsbüttel sites.
MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) production at Brunsbüttel will also be expanded to a total capacity of 400 ktpa by making use of the existing capacity of 160 ktpa and the existing infrastructure, and by converting the present TDI plant to an MDI facility, added Bayer.
"Given the right business conditions, i.e. political acceptance and the availability of a suitable infrastructure for raw materials and energy, the two projects are scheduled to be completed by 2013 at a total investment cost of about Euro 300 million," said a company statement.
The announcment was made during the official startup of a new 350 ktpa MDI complex at the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai (BISS). The plant is the largest MDI facility of its kind in the world. The company has also broken ground for a 250 ktpa TD) plant at BISS which is due to come on stream in 2010.
The TDI facility in Shanghai, for example, features the modern gas phase process, which enables energy savings of up to 60% compared with a conventional plant of the same size. The new process technology uses up to 80 percent less solvent, and cuts investment costs for this type of large-scale facility by 20%.
Bayer is also employing an oxygen depolarized cathode (ODC) technology to recycle chlorine at the BISS, which reduces energy use by 30% compared with conventional technology.
"The new facilities set standards for energy-efficient and environmentally-responsible production," claimed Patrick Thomas, chairman of Bayer MaterialScience, at a press conference in Shanghai on Friday. “This enables us to further consolidate our leading position on the world market for polyurethanes with optimized cost structures."
