Wayne T Smith, President, Polyurethanes division of BASF.
LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY: BASF will build a single-train 300,000 metric tonne per year production plant for toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and expand additional plants for its precursors at its site in Ludwigshafen. Total investment including the required infrastructure at Ludwigshafen site will be about €1 billion and create around 200 additional jobs. Production will start at the end of 2014.
Moreover, BASF plans to close down its 80,000 metric tonne per year TDI production plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, when the new plant goes on stream. At Schwarzheide, BASF will develop its site structures according to the future needs over the next years to focus more on specialties. BASF will construct a new hydrogen chloride recycling plant as well as the expansion of plants for nitric acid, chlorine and synthesis gas at the new site. It also plans to expand the aromatics complex at the site for supply of toluene.
“This project will position us as the low-cost TDI producer in Europe due to economies of scale and highly efficient integration into our Verbund. It gives us the advantage of production synergies, raw material integration and logistics. Together with our existing TDI sites in Asia and North America we will be able to optimally serve customers in all major markets,” said Wayne T Smith, President, Polyurethanes division of BASF.
(C) WOC News