TDI

NANDINI CONSULTANCY CENTER

March 2010

GLOBAL SCENARIO ON TOLUENE

DIISOCYANATE (TDI)

INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FOR THE CHEMICAL

INDUSTRY www.nandinichemical.com

Global Scenario on TDI

www.nandinichemical.com

CAS No. 584-84-9

Chemical formula C9H6N2O2

Appearance White to pale yellow liquid

Odour Sharp pungent odour

Solubility Soluble in ether, acetone and

other organic solvents

Reactivity

Chemical: TDI reacts readily with compounds containing active hydrogen, such as acids and alcohols. Contact with bases, such as caustic soda or

tertiary amines, may cause uncontrollable polymerization and rapid

evolution of heat.

Water: On contact with water, aromatic poly-substituted ureas are formed

and carbon dioxide and heat will develop. In time, white aromatic polyurea crystals will precipitate.

Heat: High temperatures can cause formation of dimer and discoloration of the TDI. This phenomenon is time temperature related

Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is white to pale yellow liquid which is a vital raw material for flexible polyurethane foam.

Flexible PU foams are used in cushions, mattresses, garments,

pads and gloves and packaging materials, which find

application as cushioning material for automobiles and airline,

furniture and mattresses.



Producers’ specification

Name of the producer Perstorp, France

Description Value

Grade T80 T65 TX T100

Assay, min (%) >99.5 >99.5 >99.5 >99.5

Isomer Ratio (%)

2,4-isomer

80+1 68+1 >95 <99.0

2,6-isomer 20+1 32+1 <5 <1.0

Acidity, as HCI (%) <0.004 0.005 <0.0015 <0.0130

Hydrolyzable Chlorides (%)

0.007 0.010 <0.01 <0.0150

Chlorine, max (%) <0.07 <0.1 <0.10 <0.07

Color (APHA) <40 <40 <40 <30

Safety and hazards

TDI is toxic by inhalation. It is a strong irritant to the skin and tissue, especially to the eyes.

As the vapours of TDI bring irritation to the tract, adequate ventilation is

needed for the safe handling of the product.

NIOSH study on TDI health effects

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH; Washington) diisocyanate panel purposes to study the possible health effects of TDI.

NIOSH says that occupational asthma is one of the health problems that will

be investigated. It will look at which workers could be at risk, what controls

employers are using to help reduce that risk, whether those controls are effective and where controls may be needed.

Packaging and storage

TDI should be kept in dry container and should be kept away from heat

Packages must be stored in dry room at temperature below 35 deg C



TDI can also be stored in containers in nitrogen or air atmosphere at relative

humidity below 0.003%.

Description of packaging and

for transportation

Capacity

Dry, clean and hermetic zinc coated drums designed for transport of

medium dangerous materials.

200 litre

Road-tankers Approx. 22 metric tonnes

20 feet iso-containers Approx. 22 metric tonnes

Application sector

Flexible polyurethane foam

TDI is a vital raw material for flexible polyurethane foam, for use in

cushions, mattresses, garments, pads and gloves and packaging materials, which find application as cushioning material for automobiles and airline,

furniture and mattresses.



Application sector of flexible polyurethane foam

Application sector Nature of application

Furniture Mattresses, Pillows, Quilts

Automobiles Seats, Lining, Sun Visors

Padding & Lining

Garments, Shoes, Diaries, Carpets, Brief

Cases, Bags, Purses etc

Packaging Electronic Items, Frozen Foods, Medicines, Audio-Video Computer CDs.

Applicators Shampoos, Wax, Shoe Polish, Household Chemicals

Miscellaneous Toys etc.

Other miscellaneous application sector

TDI is also used to produce polyurethane coatings, rigid foam adhesives,

sealants and PU cast elastomers.

Process outline

The starting point for the manufacture of TDI is the dinitration of toluene to

produce dinitrotoluene followed by catalytic hydrogenation to diaminotoluene

either as the 2,4- or 2,6 isomer or a mixture of the two.

The diaminotoluene is dissolved in an inert solvent and reacted with

phosgene to produce a crude TDI solution which is distilled.

TDI is most commonly formulated as the 80:20 mixture of the 2,4 and 2,6

isomers.

Technology development by Bayer

The process was developed at a 30,000 tonnes per year pilot plant at Dormagen, Germany that Bayer has operated for more than one year



The technology uses a gas-phase phosgenation step to convert toluylene

diamine (TDA) into TDI, rather than the conventional liquid-phase process.

The advance is claimed to reduce investment costs by 10 to 20% and cut energy costs by one-third. In addition, it results in a significantly reduced

hold-up of hazardous substances during the process, in particular, phosgene,

thus improving safety.

The new technology reduces investment costs involved in constructing

production plants by 10% to 20% and reduces energy consumption by one-

third and sets new safety standards

Bayer will consider using the new technology when constructing TDI units in

Europe in the future

Source of technology

The two main licensed processes are Sulfolane and UDEX.

Shell owns Sulfolane technology and Dow Chemical obtained the UDEX technology when it took over Union Carbide.

Chematur Engineering licenses a low pressure phosgenation process while

Befs Prokem and Sulzer Chemtech offer cyrstallisation purification

technologies. A non phosgene process developed in Japan involves the carbonylation of

dinitrotoluene. The product of this reaction, a diurethane, is converted thermally to toluene diisocyanate and alcohol.

GLOBAL DEMAND SUPPLY SCENARIO

Global installed capacity –Period 2010

2.213 million metric tonnes per annum

Global production–Period 2010

2.01 million metric tonnes per annum



Global installed capacity trend – Period 2001 to 2010

In million metric tonnes

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Capacity 1.463 1.552 1.865 1.743 1.903 2.063 2.113 2.213

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Projected installed capacity - Period 2012 to 2014

Period

Capacity in

million metric tonnes per annum

2012 3.573

*2014 3.438

Global producers

Bayer MaterialScience Baytown, Texas, US

BASF Geismar, Louisiana, US

##Dow Chemical Freeport, Texas, US

Dow Brasil Nordeste Ltda

(Formerly known as Isopol

Camacari, Brazil

Americas



Produtos Quimicos)

Petroquimica Rio Tercero Rio Tercero, Argentina

##Dow Chemical

Dow plans to shut the facility at Freeport, Texas, USA down permanently

from the second quarter 2010 due to lack of economic viability. It is

expected that the closure would have little impact on the US polyurethanes markets.

Bayer MaterialScience Brunsbttel , Germany

Perstorp (Acquired from Lyondell) Pont de Claix, France

BorsodChem

Kazincbarcika, Hungary

BASF Schwarzheide, Germany

Bayer MaterialScience Dormagen, Germany

Zaklady Chemiczne Zachem Bydgoszcz, Poland

Bayer MaterialScience, Tarragona, Spain

Shanghai BASF Polyurethane Caojing, China

BASF Yeosu, South Korea

Mitsui Chemicals Polyurethanes Omuta Japan

Mitsui Takeda Chemical Inc Kashima, Japan

**Gansu Yinguang TDI Baiyin, China

Korea Fine Chemical (KPX Fine

Chemical)

Yeosu, South Korea

Jinhua Polyurethane Company Liaoning province, China

OCI Company Ltd ( Formerly DC

Chemical )

Kunsan, South Korea

Shanghai Wusong Chemical General

Shanghai, China

#Nan Ya Plastics Mailiao, Taiwan

China National Blue Star Taiyuan, China

Nippon Polyurethane Industry Nanyo, Japan

Europe

Asia Pacific and others



Yantai Juli Isocyanate Laiyang, China

Cangzhou Dahua

Hebei, Cangzhou, China

Cangzhou Coastal Port

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers

Company Ltd,

Bharuch, India

# Nan Ya Plastics, Taiwan

Nan Ya Plastics has been shut down since November 2009, since the plant is

facing some unspecified problems. The company plans to keep the plant

shut through 2010. The company did not indicate a restart date.

Source: ICIS Chemical Business, Feb 15 – 21, 2010

Polymer Update, Feb 2010

**Recently commissioned projects

Name of the company

Location

Additional

capacity created in

metric

tonnes per annum

Date of

start

up

Remarks

Cangzhou

Dahua Co,

Cangzhou Coastal

Port

50000 Dec

2009

Built an additional 50000 metric tonnes

per annum of TDI capacity

Gansu

Yinguang Chemical

Industry Group

Baiyin, China

50000 2010

Expanded from 50000

to 100,000 metric

tonnes per annum

Plant closures

A number of TDI plants have been closed in recent times due to several

factors such as lack of economic viability for a particular producer etc.,

though the overall global demand scenario for TDI has been showing steady growth trend.

Present Global demand – Period 2010 (Estimate)



2.01 million metric tonnes

Application sectorwise Demand

Flexible foam

The main use for toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) is in the manufacture of

polyurethane (PU) flexible foams. These are used in upholstery, mattresses

and automotive seats. Flexible polyurethane foam’s versatility of form and

function can be seen in bedding, furniture, automotive interiors, carpet underlay and packaging. Foam can be created in almost any variety of shape

and firmness. In addition, it is light, durable, supportive and comfortable.

Global application sectorwise demand

Application Sector Demand in million metric tonnes

Flexible PU foam 1.69

PU elastomers 0.06

Adhesive and sealant 0.08

Surface coating 0.18

Total 2.01

Global application sectorwise demand pattern

Surface coating

9%

Adhesive and sealant

4%

PU elastomers

3%

Flexible PU foam

84%



INDIAN DEMAND SUPPLY SCENARIO

Indian producer

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Ltd., India

Plant location Bharuch, Gujarat

Plant capacity 17000 metric tonnes per annum

Details on production and sales of TDI in the recent past

Period (April to March)

Production in metric tonnes

Sales in metric tonnes

Sales value in USD million

2006-2007 15943 16641 59.24

2007-2008 16546 16145 71.52

2008-2009 12636 13118 50.62

Capacity expansion of TDI

The company has a proposal to increase the capacity of TDI to 50000 metric tonnes per annum in Dahej.

Imports

Period (April to March) Import

Export

2006 to 2007 6,089 819

2007 to 2008 11130 219

2008 to 2009 12216 267

Indian demand : Around 24,585 tonnes per annum

PROGNOSIS

The demand for TDI is intimately related to the performance of

polyurethane sector.



Demand for TDI reacts sensitively to economic activity, given that the

majority of TDI output is in the furniture and automotive sectors.



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TDI

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