Paves the way for a sustainable methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) value chain
BASF announced that its Yeosu site in Korea has successfully produced the first biomass balanced (BMB) methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). This milestone development underlines BASF’s commitment to building a more sustainable MDI value chain.
The biomass balanced MDI produced at the Yeosu site will be supplied to customers in the Asia Pacific region, further supporting BASF’s goal of providing sustainable solutions to meet the growing demands of its customers in the region.
MDI is a key component in the production of polyurethane, which is widely used in industries such as automotive, construction, and electronics. Traditionally, MDI is produced from fossil-based raw materials. With the increasing global demand for sustainable solutions, BASF has now developed biomass balanced MDI, made with biomass-balanced benzene.
At the beginning of the production chain, the renewable feedstock needed to produce the biomass balanced benzene has been fed into the production system. A corresponding share of the renewable feedstock is then attributed to the MDI by means of a certified mass balance method. Certification of BASF’s biomass balanced products is carried out according to recognized standards like REDcert2 or ISCC PLUS*. Using renewable raw material in the production system helps improve the product carbon footprint (PCF) of our customers along the value chain in comparison to the regular MDI solely based on conventional feedstock.
“The biomass balanced MDI is an important step in our journey towards a circular economy. We are developing high-performance products in a more sustainable way” said Claudia Huang, Senior Vice President, Monomers Asia-Pacific, BASF.
“At Monomers we are committed to provide a circular or low-PCF options for all our major value chains. We therefore certify our assets globally according to ISCC+ and REDcert2. Yeosu is our first Asian MDI production site where we now can produce certified BMB products”, said Jens Aßmann, Vice President Sustainability at BASF Monomers.
Dr. Dschun Song, Managing Director, BASF Company Ltd., also shared his insight: “With the production and supply of BMB MDI to our customers in Asia-Pacific, BASF in Korea further expands its low-PCF product portfolio and is well-positioned to cater the needs of customers in- and outside of Korea.”
