MDI, TDI & Polyether Polyols

Polymeric MDI, TDI and polyether polyols for rigid and flexible polyurethane foam

Polyurethane foam is made by reacting an isocyanate with a polyol, and the foam decides the pair. Rigid foam for refrigerator insulation, sandwich panels and spray insulation uses polymeric MDI (HS 3909.31) with rigid polyether polyols; flexible foam for mattresses, furniture and seating uses TDI (HS 2929.10), sold mainly as 80/20 and 65/35 mixtures of the 2,4- and 2,6-isomers, with flexible polyether polyols (HS 3907.29 under the 2022 Harmonized System, formerly 3907.20). Isocyanates react with water, so they are packed in 250 kg steel drums or IBCs sealed under dry nitrogen, or shipped in ISO tank containers, and stored at about 20–25 °C with moisture excluded.

TDI is shipped as UN 2078, toluene diisocyanate, Class 6.1, packing group II, under IMDG. In the EU, REACH Annex XVII entry 74 (Regulation (EU) 2020/1149) has required since 24 August 2023 that industrial and professional users of products containing 0.1% or more diisocyanates complete safe-use training first, renewed at least every five years. Anti-dumping measures are frequent in this chain: India has run five polyurethane-chain proceedings against China since 2016, and its polyether polyol case set duties of USD 534/MT on one Chinese producer and USD 608/MT on others. The duty at destination is checked for each route before an origin is fixed.

UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 3909.31 put China at 1.20 million MT (USD 2,013 million), Belgium at 0.58 million MT, Germany at 0.57 million MT, Korea at 0.38 million MT, the Netherlands at 0.33 million MT, the USA at 0.25 million MT and Hungary and Japan at 0.22 million MT each. Under HS 2929.10 (isocyanates) China declared 0.52 million MT (USD 1,074 million), Korea 0.43 million MT, Hungary 0.26 million MT, Germany 0.22 million MT, and Japan and the USA 0.17 million MT each; under HS 3907.29 China declared 2.23 million MT, the Netherlands 0.75 million MT, Germany 0.40 million MT and Belgium 0.39 million MT.

CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers MDI, TDI and polyols from producer offtake traders against the producer's certificate of analysis, safety data sheet and dangerous-goods declaration where the cargo is classified, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per grade against the ICIS and Platts polyurethane assessments. Send the product, foam type, pack, monthly volume and discharge port, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

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Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.