Air Liquide (Paris, France; www.airliquide.com) officially started up its new, state-of-the-art steam methane reformer (SMR) unit located in the Chempark Dormagen site near Cologne, Germany. Air Liquide invested around 100 million euros in this highly flexible production unit, which will supply Bayer MaterialScience’s new large-scale TDI (toluene diisocyanate) plant, one of the most important investments of the polymer company in recent years.
The new SMR, owned and operated by Air Liquide, has an annual production capacity of 22,000 metric tons (m.t.) of hydrogen and 120,000 m.t. of carbon monoxide. According to the long-term agreement signed in 2012, it will supply Bayer MaterialScience with large quantities of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, supporting the company’s ambition for this site to become their European center for TDI production. The chemical is employed in the production of flexible polyurethane foams, which are used to manufacture many everyday articles including mattresses, car seats and upholstered furniture.
The unit was designed and built by the Air Liquide Engineering & Construction teams using leading technologies that ensure the highest standards of efficiency, flexibility and safety while increasing production capacities.
Connected to Air Liquide’s 600-km, Rhine-Ruhr pipeline, it will also enable Air Liquide to provide other customers in the basin with hydrogen.