Karoon Petrochemical Company, in the southwestern port city of Mahshahr in Khuzestan Province, has unveiled two new polyurethane products.
Seeking to complete the value chain, diversify products and meet domestic demand, the company has produced KHR-45 and methylenedianiline (MDA), the first of its kind in Iran, the National Petrochemical Company news website Nipna reported.
Polyurethane is a polymer used as raw material in the manufacture of high-resilience foam seating, rigid foam insulation panels, spray foam, durable elastomeric wheels and tires, high-performance adhesives, surface coatings and sealants, synthetic fibers, hard-plastic parts, and hoses.
According to the company managing director, KHR-45 products comply with international norms and compete with their foreign peers.
“MDA products were the exclusive premise of the US and imported under various brands,” Alireza Sediqizadeh said, adding that now Iran is now the world’s second producer.
With two new items, the company in total has offered five new products in the current Persian calendar year that ends in March.
Earlier this year, it started producing three isocyanate items, including MTDA, KMT-10 and KLM100B (L) grades, largely for the auto, office, home and footwear, paint and resin industries.
Isocyanates are a family of highly reactive, low molecular weight chemicals widely used in the manufacture of polyurethane foams, insulation, household refrigerators and board or laminate form, residential sheathing or commercial roofing, floor finishes, wood finishes and paint, adhesive and sealant compounds, automobile parts, shoe soles, roller skate wheels, pond liners and blood bags.
First in Middle East
Karoon Petrochemical Plant is the first producer of isocyanates in the Middle East. It is also the first to complete the polyurethane value chain in the region. Half the output is exported. Only nine companies in the world produce this chemical and Karoon is one of the exporters to Europe and Asia.
Karoon’s production of toluene diisocyanate (TDI), which is its main product, amounts to 40,000 tons a year.
The company also produces petrochemicals like methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) (40,000 tons) acid clorhidric (116,000 tons), nitric acid (92,000 tons), ortho toluenediamine (11,000 tons), meta toluenediamine (31,000 tons), nitrobenzene (40,000 tons) and aniline (30,000 tons).
Companies in Iraq, Turkey, India, Russia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Greece, Sweden, Peru, Kenya, Nigeria and Italy are the main foreign clients. The company uses chlorine, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, toluene and nitric acid as raw material to produce basic petrochemicals and final products with higher value added.
Karoon receives its feedstock from the Bandar Imam, Bu Ali Sina, Fanavaran, Arvand, Razi and Shahid Rasouli petrochemical plants.
Several Petrochemical projects are underway across the country as Iran seeks to increase its petrochemical output.
Nominal production capacity currently stands at about 66 million tons a year, with plans to triple the output by 2025.
Petrochemical and polymer output exceeded 25 million tons in the first five months of the current fiscal (March 21-August 22).
This indicates a growth of 6% (or 1.5 million tons) compared to the same period a year ago.
An estimated 40% of the products were sold domestically and the rest went to Asia. Petrochemicals account for 35% of Iran’s non-oil exports.
The petrochemical industry annually generates between $10 and $15 billion in revenue and this is expected to rise to $25 billion in less than two years, considering the ongoing development projects.
Domestic knowledge-based companies are involved in the construction process of new plants that create jobs and help companies move toward self-sufficiency.
