Shanghai, China – Covestro plans to raise MDI capacity at the Shanghai site from 500kT/year to 600kT/year, raising monomer MDI capacity by 50kT/year t0 200kT/year and polymeric MDI capacity by 50kT/year to 400kT/year.
The project has EUR 10m ($12m) total investment earmarked and started its second round of environmental impact assessment in September.
According to the environmental report, phase one will increase total capacity by 50kT/year through prolonged annual operation from 8,000 hours to 8760 hours.
Phase two will increase the capacity by 50kT/year. Upgrading waste treatment facilities pumps, control valves and heat exchangers will increase capacity. Three tubes will be added to carry monochlorobenzene.
The existing phosgenation production process will not be changed, the report added.
Phase one is scheduled to come on stream by the end of 2018; phase two by the end of 2020, said the report.
Jane Ho is Utech-polyurethane.com and Urethanes Technology International's China correspondent. Jane has been writing about the Chinese polyurethane industry since 2013 covering news and in-depth segment reports. She also works for a number of other publications in the region including Forbes.