Lyondell Chemical Co., Houston, announced a restructuring of its toluene diisocyanate (TDI) business and the planned shutdown of its U.S. aliphatic diisocyanate (ADI) manufacturing units as the company moves toward an exit from the ADI business next year. The company said it currently is the world's third-largest TDI supplier, with annual capacity of 564 million pounds. Lyondell is in the process of implementing proprietary technology for TDI in Pont de Claix, France, at a facility operated by Rhodia under a manufacturing agreement with Lyondell. When completed, the Pont de Claix facility will be the largest TDI production unit in Europe, Lyondell said. The company said it expects to eventually replicate the technology at its Lake Charles, LA, production units, a move that would expand TDI capacity at the site to 480 million pounds annually. ADI products include hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), which are used in the manufacture of polyurethane coatings applications for industrial, automotive and appliance applications. TDI is used primarily to manufacture polyurethane foam.