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Bayer pioneers more-efficient TDI technology

ChemicalProcessing.com
07/12/2006

A new process for making toluene diisocyanate  (TDI), which is a key raw material for polyurethane, reduces energy consumption by a third, cuts investment costs by 10-20%,  and sets new safety standards, claims its developer, Bayer MaterialScience AG, Leverkusen, Germany. A 30,000-ton/year pilot plant has been operating at Dormagen, Germany, for more than  a year; the company now plans to construct the first full-scale plant, a 160,000-ton/year unit at its site at Caojing, near Shanghai, China, for startup in 2009.

“The new technology is a quantum leap in our development of state-of-the-art production methods that offer even greater efficiency. It provides an innovative system of energy management and sets new standards in high-output, resource-saving production methods,” says Peter Vanacker, head of Bayer’s Polyurethanes Business Unit. “We will be considering using it when constructing TDI plants in Europe in the future,” he adds.