Production of polyethylene terephthalate, better known as PET, at Shahid Tondgouyan Petrochemical Company topped 107,000 tons in the first month of the current Persian calendar year (March 21-April 20), the operation manager said.
The company wants to set a record in the production of PET products this year, Amin Malekzadeh said.
“Last year (March 2020-2021) was a golden year in the history of the company as it set a record of 1.1 million tons,” he said.
In addition to raising production, diversifying product portfolio is a priority of the company to be able to boost market share and curb imports, the National Petrochemical Company news website Nipna reported.
In the past two years more than ten new PET grades have passed lab tests and entered the market. PET film grade (BoPET films) and PET bottle grade for use in the packaging and food industries are among the recent products of the company.
Another product is a new grade of High Viscose PET, also called engineering polyester yarn. It is used to produce industrial yarns with high strength. Use of engineering polyester yarn includes tire yarn, tarpaulin tents, sturdy fabrics, fishing nets, shipload ropes, and conveyors.
Production of crystal PET for use in ovens and microwave containers is also underway. High tenacity polyester will be added to the company’s production soon, Malekzadeh said.
HTPET has the ability to undergo high tension stress and as a result is used as tire chords in auto manufacturing. The company is striving to gain the technical knowhow to produce three more grades of PET.
Established in 1998, the STPC is located at the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in the southwestern Khuzestan Province.
Para-xylene is the feedstock of the company supplied by Nouri Petrochemical Complex in Bushehr Province. The company uses 2,000 tons of p-Xylene per day or 750,000 tons per annum. It is the largest producer of PET products and Pure Terephthalic Acid (PTA) in Iran.
The global PET resin market was estimated at over 80 million tons in 2020 and the market is projected to register a CAGR of over 5% by 2026.
The global PET bottle market reached a volume of 13.1 million tons in 2020. It is expected that the global PET bottle market to exhibit moderate growth in the next few years.
PET bottles are more durable, transparent, lightweight, non-reactive, cost-effective and thermally stable. Moreover, they are environment-friendly and can be recycled repeatedly which further reduces their manufacturing cost.
