Bayer tests gas-phase-phosgenation

Bayer MaterialScience has successfully tested its innovative gas-phase-phosgenation technology at a new TDI (toluene diisocyanate) plant being commissioned at Caojing in Shanghai, China. The process technology reduces solvent consumption by around 80 percent in a large production facility, cutting energy consumption by up to 60 percent, BMS said in a July 26 announcement.

The company said the use of this technology enables a significant reduction in operating costs. Compared with conventional production facilities of similar size, carbon dioxide emissions can be cut by around 60 kilometric tons a year, according to BMS, and the technology also cuts investment costs by about 20 percent.

“The use of our gas phase phosgenation technology for the first time in a manufacturing plant of this size clearly indicates that Bayer MaterialScience is at the forefront of modern and environmentally advanced technologies,” said Patrick Thomas, CEO of Bayer MaterialScience.

The world-scale TDI facility at BMS’s integrated production site at Caojing is expected to come on stream stepwise later this year. /Source: Plastics News/