Wanhua Chemical to build isocyanates plant in Louisiana

China’s Wanhua Chemical plans to build a $1.1 billion methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant in Louisiana.

Wanhua is the world’s largest producer of the polyurethane raw material, which is also made by U.S. and European firms such as BASF, Covestro, Dow Chemical, and Huntsman Corp. According to the consulting firm IHS Markit, Wanhau’s 1.8 million metric tons of annual MDI capacity represents about 24% of the world’s total.

MDI is reacted with polyols to make . . .