BASF teams with Air Liquid Chinese subsidieary and Shenji to produce MDI from biomethane

In China, BASF signed a multi-year cooperation agreement with Air Liquide Group’s subsidiary, Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases Co., Ltd. (SCIPIG), and Shenergy Group’s subsidiary, Shanghai Shenji Energy & Environment Technology Co., Ltd. (Shenji). The collaboration aims to utilize biomethane to jointly promote the production of low-carbon footprint methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI).

According to the agreement, Shenji will leverage its advanced bio-circular waste treatment technology to produce biomethane that meets national standards and deliver it into urban natural gas grid operated by Shanghai Gas. SCIPIG will use this biomethane to produce bio-hydrogen and bio-CO. BASF will then utilize these bio-based industrial gases to manufacture MDI and its derivatives with reduced product carbon footprint (rPCF), including but not limited to monomeric MDI. Monomeric MDIs are either used as pure isocynate, in mixtures with polymeric MDI (pMDI) or in prepolymers for flexible foams, CASE applications, shoe soles or thermoplastic polyurethane.