Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Germany’s BASF plans to start building a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) synthesis unit at its Verbund plant in Geismar, Louisiana in the second quarter of 2018. Planning and engineering for the new unit started in 2016 and were recently completed. The upgrade is expected to double the company’s MDI production capacity to nearly 0.6Mt/yr from 0.3Mt/yr. The investment is planned to support the growth of BASF’s North American business.

China: BASF has blamed ‘force majeure’ for a disruption to the production of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) at its Chongqing plant due to a supply shortage of natural gas from its syngas supplier. BASF says it is unable to determine when it will be able to resume production as its syngas supplier has been unable to tell it when the input will be restored. The German-headquartered chemical multinational uses MDI to manufacture a number of products including insulation.

UK: Texas’ Huntsman Corporation has completed its acquisition of IFS Chemicals, a manufacturer of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) based systems. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

“With its highly experienced team and loyal customer base, IFS provides us with excellent access to the UK’s growing downstream MDI systems market. It will serve as a strategic platform to expand our business and consolidate our position as a market leader. The acquisition represents the latest step in our plan to strengthen our differentiated downstream capabilities and we now have more than 25 facilities worldwide, reflecting our confidence in the long-term growth prospects for MDI-based urethanes, ” said Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman’s Polyurethanes division.

US: China’s Wanhua Chemical plans to build a US$1.1bn methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant in Louisiana. The chemical producer has not revealed where it intends to build the plant, what size it will be or when it plans to start construction, according to local media. It expects to choose a site later in 2017. Wanhua Chemical will contribute about US$950m towards the project and US$170m will come from an unnamed partner.

Wanhua Chemical operates two MDI plants in China. In 2011 it spent US$1.7bn when it purchased BorsodChem, a Hungarian polyurethanes manufacturer. Louisiana state officials have reportedly been discussing the project with Wanhua since 2013.

Belgium: BASF has increased the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) production capacity to 0.65Mt/yr from 0.56Mt/yr at its Verbund plant in Antwerp. MDI is used to manufacture polyurethanes, which are used in insulation production and other materials.

China: BASF has begun trial operations at its mononitrobenzene plant within the integrated 400,000t methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) complex in Chongqing, China. This MDI site covers an area of more than 50 hectares, including facilities of 400,000t/yr of Mononitrobenzene, 300,000t/yr of aniline, 400,000t/yr of crude MDI, and an MDI splitter with a capacity of 400,000t/yr. Mononitrobenzene is a precursor for the production of MDI, a component for polyurethanes.

China: Bayer MaterialScience intends to increase MDI production from 0.35Mt/yr to 0.50Mt/yr by the middle of 2014, according to polymer news website Gupta Verlag. De-bottlenecking will take place at the polymer manufacturer's MDI production facility at the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai in Caojing, Shanghai.

"MDI is an important raw material for the production of polyurethane rigid foam, which is an effective insulation material for buildings and refrigerators. The de-bottlenecking will allow the company to further expand its business in China, which is one of the largest markets in the world for Bayer MaterialScience," said Wolfgang Miebach, President of Bayer MaterialScience China.