Bayer Plans Upgrades In Germany And U.S.

Bayer is upgrading facilities at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site, Germany, and in Baytown, Texas. At the German site, it will spend $135 million by 2013 to add capacity for an additional 70,000 metric tons per year, bringing polycarbonate capacity at the site to 400,000 metric tons. As part of the project, Bayer will incorporate the firm’s new oxygen depolarized cathode technology into its chlorine manufacturing process to reduce electricity use and CO₂ emissions (C&EN, April 5, 2010, page 10). At the U.S. site, Bayer has started work on a $120 million, two-year upgrade of its polycarbonate operations. The effort includes productivity and other improvements in the manufacture of polyurethane raw materials methylene diphenyl diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate.