BASF opens isocyanates complex

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and their Chinese partners have started up their recently built $1b integrated isocyanates complex at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park, China. The other companies involved are Shanghai Hua Yi, Sinopec Shanghai Gao Qiao Petrochemical Corporation and Shanghai Chloro-Alkali Chemical.

The complex has a capacity of 240,000 tonnes per year of crude MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) and 160,000 tonnes of TDI (toluene diisocyanate) per year and will serve the rapidly growing market for polyurethanes in China. In the period up to 2015, the Chinese polyurethanes market is expected to grow at about 10 per cent per year, becoming the world’s largest market.

BASF is one of the largest foreign chemical investors in China, with sales of €2.8b in 2005 and a workforce of more than 4,000 employees. By 2010, BASF aims to generate 10 percent of its global sales and earnings in its chemical businesses in China.

The isocyanates MDI and TDI are important precursors in the manufacture of polyurethanes, which have applications in the automotive and construction industries, in appliances such as refrigerators, and for upholstery and footwear.