In the next few years, the proposed construction and expansion projects of global MDI manufacturers will mainly focus on Asia, North America and Europe. By 2024, there will be 11.6 million tons/year of MDI production capacity in the world.
Figure 1.2024 Global MDI Supplier Capacity Structure (Unit: Percentage)
※ Wanhua Chemical A set of 400,000 tons/year MDI production plant of Wanhua Chemical will be officially settled in Convent, St. James District, Louisiana. The total investment of the project is 1.25 billion US dollars. The project construction will start in 2019 and is expected to be put into operation in 2021. During the construction period, it is expected to create 1,000 local jobs, and 1,230 direct and indirect jobs will be created after completion. In addition, Wanhua Chemical plans to expand the MDI production capacity of 600,000 tons per year in Yantai, China to 1.1 million tons in 2019, and expand the MDI production capacity of 1.2 million tons per year in Ningbo, China to 1.5 million tons in 2020.
※ Covestro In Europe, Covestro plans to invest 200 million euros to expand the MDI plant with an annual capacity of 170,000 tons in Tarragona, Spain to 220,000 tons. It will also build its own chlorine plant as part of a plan to reduce its cost. In addition, its annual production capacity of 200,000 tons in Brunsbitt, Germany, plans to expand the production capacity of 220,000 tons to 400,000 tons, and is expected to be put into operation in 2019. In North America, Covestro’s supervisory board approved an investment plan of approximately 1.5 billion euros to build a world-class MDI plant in Baytown, USA. The investment will be the largest single investment in the company’s history, and the new plant will be located at the existing Covestro Baytown site. The new production line has a capacity of 500,000 tons per year and production is expected to start in 2024. At the same time, Covestro will shut down an older and relatively inefficient MDI unit with a capacity of 90,000 tons/year. In Asia, Covestro Shanghai intends to increase the production capacity of the MDI plant step by step from the current 500,000 tons per year to 600,000 tons/year. The project has a total investment of 10 million euros (80 million yuan), and will be constructed in two phases. The first phase is expected to be put into operation in 2019, and the second phase is expected to be put into operation in the first quarter of 2021.
It is estimated that by 2021, Covestro’s MDI production capacity in the Asia-Pacific region will reach 670,000 tons/year; in 2022, the MDI production capacity in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America excluding Mexico) will reach 820,000 tons/year ; By 2024, the total MDI production capacity in the NAFTA region (the United States, Canada and Mexico) will reach 740,000 tons/year.
※ BASF BASF announced at the beginning of 2018 that it would start construction in the second quarter of 2018 and build a new MDI plant in Geismar, Louisiana, USA, with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year. put into production.
※ Kumho Mitsui Kumho Mitsui plans to expand the MDI production capacity from 350,000 tons/year to 400,000 tons/year by the end of 2019, and to expand the total production capacity to 600,000 tons/year long-term plan.
※ Fujian Cornell Polyurethane The company is formed by Cornell, the largest aniline manufacturer in China Established as a joint venture with Fujian Petrochemical and Fuzhou State-owned Assets Investment and Development Group, each holding 55%, 25%, and 20% of the shares. The 400,000-ton/year MDI project of Fujian Cornell Polyurethane Co., Ltd. is located in Jiangyin Port. It is one of the industrial projects started, with a total investment of 6.6 billion yuan, covering an area of about 850 mu. The project will be constructed in two phases, and the first phase will be 400,000 tons /year MDI plant, 55,000 tons/year formaldehyde plant, 100,000 tons/year hydrogen chloride treatment plant; Phase II construction of 480,000 tons/year nitrobenzene plant, 360,000 tons/yearAniline plant, 270,000 tons/year nitric acid plant and related public works and other supporting facilities, the construction period is 24 months.
