Isfahan Science and Technology Center has produced 20 catalysts used in oil, petrochemical and steel industries to help domestic manufactures reduce imports of such materials.
Six catalysts are for the steel industry and 14 have applications in the petroleum refining and petrochemical industry, especially in the production of urea, ammonia and methanol, ISNA reported.
Razi and Shiraz petrochemical companies as well as Khuzestan Steel Company are said to be the main buyers of the catalysts.
Before indigenizing the catalysts, local industries annually spent $17 million for importing the same materials.
Import of some grades of catalysts has become almost impossible due to the new US sanctions since May 2018, and were it not for domestic producers, some petrochemical plants would not be able to function.
A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction but is not consumed by the reaction. Most solid catalysts are metals or oxides, sulfides, and halides of metallic elements and of semi-metallic elements such as boron, aluminum and silicon.
Domestic petrochemical plants and oil refineries use $400 million worth of catalysts a year, a large part of which is produced locally.
Iranian companies use at least 23,000 tons of catalysts a year. Private companies produce 20,000 ton covering most of the demand.
Catalyst consumption is rising and local companies are improving their R&D in the tight race to keep up with the times and not fall behind foreign competitors.
Catalysts play an essential role in the production of petroleum, polymers and chemicals, and the petrochemical industry’s growth is intertwined with catalyst production. Likewise, production of most key chemicals depends on catalysts.
Statistics show that crude oil consumption will rise by 1.3% a year by 2025, this is while the figure for the petrochemical sector is 3.5%, meaning that the latter’s growth will be three times that of oil.
The international catalyst market, now worth $18 billion per annum, is expected to grow exponentially and reach $35 billion by 2025.
The rising demand for catalysts from petroleum refineries, growing demand for polymers as well as growth in chemical output are key factors driving the global catalyst market.
