Bayer MaterialScience plans to invest roughly EUR 150 million in a new high-tech production plant for TDI at Chempark Dormagen
Bayer MaterialScience plans to invest roughly EUR 150 million in a new high-tech production plant for TDI (toluene diisocyanate) at Chempark Dormagen. TDI is a precursor for the production of polyurethane flexible foam. The new plant will have a capacity of 300,000 tons per year and will replace the existing plants in Dormagen and Brunsbüttel. The background behind the project is the company’s European-wide optimization of isocyanate production. "This investment is a clear commitment to North Rhine-Westphalia as an industrial location. It is intended to strengthen Dormagen as a global TDI technology center and to provide long-term security for the competitiveness of Chempark Dormagen and the jobs at the plant and in the region," declares Dr. Tony Van Osselaer, member of the Bayer MaterialScience Board of Management.
The innovative and patented TDI process technology to be used in the planned facility sets new standards worldwide for efficient and climate-friendly TDI production. "The expertise that flowed into our TDI process innovation originated in Dormagen, which is a source of great pride to us here," says Dieter Kuhne, Head of TDI Production in Dormagen. "Our process enables us to achieve energy savings of up to 60 percent compared with a conventional plant of the same size. Furthermore, the technology requires up to 80 percent less solvent. These factors contribute to a significantly better energy and environmental balance," adds Kuhne.
Bayer MaterialScience first presented plans to erect a new TDI production plant in Dormagen in December 2008. The second phase of the project is scheduled to begin in April 2010 with the "scoping" hearing, to which the Cologne regional government is invited as the regulatory authority. Subject to political acceptance and approval being granted by the authorities, the world-scale plant will be built on the site of the coal-fired power plant, which will be torn down. The new TDI production plant is currently scheduled to go on stream in 2014. Dormagen will then be the sole Bayer MaterialScience site in Europe for the production of TDI. Plans call for the production of raw materials for polyurethane rigid foams to be expanded in Brunsbüttel.
Chempark Dormagen was chosen as the site for the TDI plant in a Europe-wide selection process, with the availability of raw materials and precursors as well as the existing infrastructure being key factors in the decision. The significantly greater production capacity of the planned plant means that it will also require correspondingly greater quantities of raw materials. Whereas chlorine is already available in sufficient quantities in Dormagen, a new reformer must be built to cover the increased demand for carbon monoxide. The starting materials required for this are also available in Dormagen. Furthermore, the hydrogen produced as a byproduct of carbon monoxide production can also be further processed directly on the site.
