BASF's Geismar, La., facility is doubling its MDI capacity.
BASF has replaced an older MDI reactor in Geismar , La., as part of its plan to increase capacity from 300,000 metric tons per year to 600,000 tonnes by the middle of the decade.
The company said it had completed the work on the first phase, announced in April 2019.
BASF declined to specify the size of the unit replaced, or whether the work had changed the current size of the plant. A spokesman said: "An older MDI synthesis unit is no longer in service. Although the instant capacity addition is limited, the new MDI production unit sets the foundation for future growth."
The second phase of the expansion is under way, and is expected to start up in the second half of 2021. In April 2019, the estimated cost was $87 million.
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