Expansions: DuPont breaks ground on lubricants plant in China; BASF/Air Liquide/Shenergy collaborate to produce biomethane-based MDI

US materials firm DuPont recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Molykote specialty lubricants manufacturing plant in the Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province in East China. The manufacturing unit is being built at the Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone and is expected to be operational by early 2027.

The company says it aims to address customer demand for advanced lubricants in transportation, industrial, energy, and electronics in China. Eugenio Toccalino, Vice President and General Manager, said, "This facility will boost local capabilities for application and new formulation development, empowering customer collaboration and response in real time."

Yi Zhang, Regional President, DuPont Asia Pacific, added, "This manufacturing unit will enable us to address current needs and future trends for specialty lubricants."

The business has manufacturing operations and R&D capabilities globally, in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Available through a global network of channel partners, Molykote lubricants – which include anti-friction coatings, compounds, dispersions, greases, oils and fluids, and pastes – serve the automotive market and industrial/maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)

In other news, German chemical firm BASF recently signed a multi-year cooperation agreement with industrial gases firm Air Liquide Group’s subsidiary, Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases Co (SCIPIG), and Shenergy Group’s subsidiary, Shanghai Shenji Energy & Environment Technology Co. The collaboration aims to utilise biomethane to jointly promote the production of low-carbon footprint methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI).

According to the agreement, Shenji will leverage its advanced bio-circular waste treatment technology to produce biomethane that meets national standards and deliver it into urban natural gas grid operated by Shanghai Gas.

SCIPIG will use this biomethane to produce bio-hydrogen and bio-CO. BASF will then utilise these bio-based industrial gases to manufacture MDI and its derivatives with reduced product carbon footprint (rPCF), including but not limited to monomeric MDI.

Monomeric MDIs are either used as pure isocynate, in mixtures with polymeric MDI (pMDI) or in prepolymers for flexible foams, CASE applications, shoe soles or thermoplastic polyurethane.

Jeffrey Lou, President/Chairman of BASF Greater China, said, “By applying bio-based feedstock, BASF will further reduce the carbon footprint of our products, demonstrating our commitment to expanding our sustainable product portfolio and driving circular economy. It also marks a pivotal step to enable our local customers’ green transformation and jointly build a low-carbon future.”

“This is the first time that bio-hydrogen and bio-CO have been locally produced in Shanghai from biomass, which will be fully compliant with ISCC PLUS standards, following the respective site and product certifications,” Rui Coelho, Air Liquide China CEO, said.

“This contract kicks off the production of bio-products in SCIP, providing a momentum to support the decarbonisation goals and the circular economy targets of the industrial players in the industrial park. Air Liquide China is committed to the development of reliable and competitive solutions that help our customers to reduce their carbon footprint,” he furthered.

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