Tabriz Petrochemical Company in East Azarbaijan Province will start producing polypropylene early next Iranian year (starting March 21) and the production of high density polyethylene will begin in two years, managing director of the company said.
“The new polypropylene unit will have a production capacity of 30,000 tons per year and the capacity of HDPE unit will be 310,000 tons per year,” Siavash Darafshi was also quoted as saying by the National Petrochemical Company’s news website Nipna.
When the two units, which are under construction now, become fully operational, the production capacity of polymer products in the complex will double, he added.
Located in northwest Iran, TPCO annually produces 840,000 tons of various products, namely raw polymers, polyethylene, polystyrene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.
Almost 40% of the plant's output are sold domestically and the rest is exported to clients in Asia and Europe. It is built on 380 hectares and its main feedstock and raw materials include naphtha, LPG, mineral oil and other chemicals provided by Tabriz and Tehran refineries, as well as petrochemical companies in southern Iran.
The company set a record in polyethylene production in the first three months of the current fiscal year (March 2021-22).
The polyethylene unit of the company produced 35,194 tons of high-density and low-density polyethylene, which was up 23% compared with the same period of last year.
Referring to the role of petrochemicals in earning revenues for the country that is hit by US sanctions, Darafshi said about 85% of non-oil exports are related to the petrochemical industry.
“In the first 10 months of the current year, the company’s domestic sales exceeded 300,000 tons worth $290 million. It also exported 93,000 tons of products worth $116 million,” he added.
Polyethylene is the world's most versatile and widely produced polymer. HDPE is a thermoplastic polymer produced from monomer ethylene. It is used for producing plastic bottles, corrosion-resistant pipes, geo-membranes and plastic lumber.
HDPE is also used for producing PE-100 pipes that have higher and long-term durability with application in oil, gas, water and wastewater systems.
Propylene is a colorless fuel gas with a naturally pungent smell. It is a key commodity in the petrochemical industry and can be transformed into value added products like polypropylene and create jobs in the downstream petrochemical sector.
Polypropylene – the world's second-most widely produced synthetic plastic, after polyethylene – is used in a variety of applications, including packaging and labeling, textiles, carpets, stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive parts and polymer banknotes.
Civic Responsibilities
In addition, the company has taken measures to fulfill its corporate social responsibilities, including environment protection.
It recently launched a project to eliminate the volatile organic compounds emissions from its wastewater treatment unit.
VOC emissions are considered a serious environmental problem in petrochemical industries. The project, the first of its kind in Iran, was completed at a cost of $2.37 million.
In the project, the surface of all open ponds has been covered with special aluminum sheets and the flow of VOCs is sucked from the ponds via a network of pumps, transferred to furnaces, and burned there.
Another environmental project of the company is to transfer recycled wastewater from Tabriz Wastewater Treatment Plant to TPCO to help reduce the mounting pressure on drinking water resources of Tabriz and sustain water transfer to the petrochemical complex in the provincial capital.
The Tabriz plant now uses water from Zarrinehroud river that originates in the Zagros Mountains in Kurdestan Province, passes through West Azarbaijan Province and flows into the famous Lake Urmia.
When the project is completed, the petrochemical facility will be cut off from the river and only use treated wastewater. Five million cubic meters per year of effluent from the Tabriz Water Treatment Plant will be sold to the petrochemical company.
Iran’s petrochemical sector has grown significantly and prepared policies to complete the value-added chain in the key sector.
The rapidly expanding petrochemical industry meets most of the domestic need, thanks to the quality and diversity of products. Export volumes are significant, too.
According to plans, Iran intends to increase annual petrochemical output from the current 90 million tons to 130 million tons in five years.
