The German adhesive manufacturing company Covestro has reportedly announced that it is investing $12 million in its Shanghai facility to expand MDI capacity. Reports claim, the company recently kicked off a second round of assessments at the facility to ascertain its environmental impact.
Reportedly, the expansion would be executed in two phases. Phase one is anticipated to reach completion and come on stream by the end of the final quarter of 2018 while phase two is expected to reach completion by the end of year 2020.
According to a report by the European Rubber Journal, the Shanghai facility’s annual MDI capacity would increase by approximately 100 kilotons per annum (ktpa), reaching a capacity of over 600 ktpa from the initial 500 ktpa. Moreover, the facility’s monomer MDI capacity would also be going up by approximately 150 ktpa and reach 200 ktpa from the existing 50 ktpa. Furthermore, the polymeric MDI capacity would also witness a rise and reach 400 ktpa from the initial 50 ktpa.
Phase one of the expansion would reportedly be accounting for an additional 50,000 tons of capacity per year while also extending annual operations to 8,760 hours from the initial 8,000 hours.
Meanwhile, phase two of the expansion would reportedly be increasing annual capacity by over 50,000 tons through an upgrade of heat exchangers, control valves, and waste treatment facilities pumps. Additionally, three tubes would be added to the facility to carry monochlorobenzene.
For the record, Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai is the company’s biggest investment outside Germany. The facility, in addition to manufacturing high-grade polycarbonate, also produces polyurethane raw materials and raw materials for adhesives and coatings as well. The company globally operates around 30 sites and employs over 16,200 individuals, cite sources.
The company reportedly released a statement clarifying that the existing phosgenation process would not be changed.