SHANGHAI—Covestro plans to invest $12 million to expand MDI capacity at its plant in Shanghai where it recently began a second round of assessments into the facility's environmental impact.
According to the Leverkusen, Germany-based company, annual capacity for MDI at the Shanghai facility will rise by 100,000 metric tons, from 500,000 tons per year to 600,000 tons per year. Its monomer MDI capacity will go up by 50,000 tons to 200,000 tons per year, while its polymeric MDI capacity also will rise by 50,000 tons, to 400,000 tons annually.
The first phase of the expansion will account for 50,000 additional tons of capacity per year, and will extend annual operations from 8,000 hours to 8,760 hours.
Phase two of the expansion will increase capacity by 50,000 tons annually through the upgrade of waste treatment facilities pumps, control valves and heat exchangers. Three tubes will be added to carry monochlorobenzene.
The existing phosgenation production process will not be changed, according to Covestro.
Phase one is scheduled to come on stream by the end of 2018, while phase two is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2020.
The Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai represents the company's largest investment outside of Germany. In addition to producing polyurethane raw materials, the site manufactures high-grade polycarbonate as well as raw materials for coatings and adhesives.
Globally, Covestro operates 30 sites, including technical centers, manufacturing facilities and an innovation center. It employs about 16,200.