Wanhua to shut 1.1 million metric ton Yantai MDI unit

The scheduled turnaround will also cover associated facilities at the Shandong province complex. Wanhua said the work formed part of its annual maintenance program and would not have a material effect on its overall production or operations.

The shutdown is significant because of the scale of the Yantai unit and its timing. It will briefly overlap with maintenance at Wanhua subsidiary BorsodChem’s integrated isocyanates complex in Kazincbarcika, Hungary.
BorsodChem began a phased shutdown on July 17 covering its 400,000 metric ton/year MDI unit, 250,000 metric ton/year TDI plant and associated facilities. That turnaround was expected to last approximately 35 days.

For part of August, the two maintenance programs could therefore remove 1.5 million metric tons/year of nominal MDI capacity from production simultaneously. Stated capacity does not represent the amount of material that will be lost during the shutdowns, and Wanhua has not indicated that customer deliveries will be affected.

The Yantai turnaround follows scheduled maintenance at Wanhua’s 800,000 metric ton/year MDI unit at its Fujian Industrial Park. That plant was taken offline on June 23 and returned to production on August 1.

Wanhua produces MDI for polyurethane applications including rigid insulation foam, automotive components, appliances, adhesives, elastomers and synthetic leather. The Yantai plant is one of the central units in the company’s global isocyanates manufacturing network.

Subject to the maintenance proceeding on schedule, the Yantai unit would be expected to return to operation in late September.