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- Kumho Petrochemical Yeosu
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- Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
- Predominantly Chemicals Operations
- Jeonnam
- 1292, Hwachi-dong
Kumho Mitsui Chemicals’ Yeosu Plant. Credit: Mitsui Chemicals, Apr 2021
The KKPC Yeosu facility, located within the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, is a fully integrated Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) manufacturing site that:
- Produces high-performance monomeric (4,4′-MDI) and modified MDI grades used in automotive NVH parts, elastic fibers, synthetic leather and CASE applications, as well as polymeric MDI for rigid and semi-rigid polyurethane foams.
- Houses R&D laboratories and process development units for catalyst, crystallization and environmental technologies aimed at improving NCO-group selectivity and by-product recycling.
- Expanded its annual MDI capacity from 410,000 t/y to 610,000 t/y in September 2024, making it one of the world’s largest single-site MDI producers, and incorporates closed-loop recycling to convert MDI by-product brine into raw materials, thereby reducing wastewater and greenhouse-gas emissions.
- In June 2025, it began operating an on-site chlor-alkali plant (60,000 t/y capacity) utilizing thyssenkrupp nucera’s e-BiTAC v7 electrolyzers to generate chlorine and caustic soda from recycled MDI brine, replacing imported chlorine feedstock and minimizing effluent discharge.
MDI Manufacturing time line
| Year | Capacity (t/y) | Expansion Method / Technology |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 25,000 | Start of commercial MDI production phosgenation-based MDA conversion) |
| 1996 | 30,000 (+5,000) | Debottlenecking of reactor and crystallizer units |
| 2001 | 50,000 (+20,000) | Addition of new phosgenation train and expanded distillation column |
| 2004 | 55,000 (+5,000) | Further debottlenecking in isocyanate synthesis and recovery systems |
| 2005 | 65,000 (+10,000) | Installation of improved solvent recovery and MDI purification equipment |
| 2009 | 140,000 (+75,000) | Construction of a second MDI production line using proprietary KMCI phosgenation technology |
| 2010 | 150,000 (+10,000) | Fine debottlenecking in reactor heat integration and by-product handling |
| 2012 | 200,000 (+50,000) | Third production train added; enhanced crystallization section |
| 2014 | 240,000 (+40,000) | Installation of carbodiimide-modified MDI reactor for specialty grades |
| 2017 | 350,000 (+110,000) | Fourth train: large-scale phosgenation reactor and high-efficiency distillation |
| 2019 | 410,000 (+60,000) | Capacity boost via advanced process control and debottlenecking |
| 2024 | 610,000 (+200,000) | Fifth train: state-of-the-art phosgenation modules |
