To complete the propane value chain, Pars Petrochemical Company in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in southern Bushehr Province, has planned to develop the downstream industry by building propylene from propane units, managing director of the company said.
“The plan will help raise the current propylene and polypropylene output by 600,000 tons and 500,000 tons respectively per year,” IRNA also quoted Masoud Hassani as saying.
Propylene is one of the important products in the petrochemical industry and besides Salman Farsi and Hirsa Polymer Sahand plants, Pars Petrochemical Company will also help increase production of this costly product, he added.
Estimated to cost $900 million, the initiative, known as propane dehydrogenation or PDH units, is expected to become operational in four years and the rate of return on investment in the project is about 20%.
Referring to the much-needed feedstock, he noted that the two units need 700,000 tons of propane and 4,000 tons of ethylene annually.
PDH is used to produce polymer-grade propylene from propane independent of a steam cracker or fluid catalytic cracking unit.
Propylene is the second most important product in the petrochemical industry after ethylene. It is the raw material for plastic polypropylene, which component is mainly used in the automotive, textile and packaging industries.
The primary source of propylene is from cracking naphtha and other liquids such as gas oil and condensates to produce ethylene. However, propane can also be used to produce propylene.
In Iran, propane is produced at the Bandar Imam Khomeini Petrochemical Complex and Bidboland Gas Treatment Plant and will be used as feedstock for the new PDH plants.
At present, about 1 million tons of propylene are produced annually.
According to Behzad Mohammadi, the former head of the National Petrochemical Company, propylene output is expected to increase by 3 million tons or 300% over the next three years.
Seven Projects
Annual propylene production is currently 1 million tons and will reach 3.9 million tons as soon as seven projects are launched in Bandar Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province and Asalouyeh, Kangan in Bushehr Province."
He said three projects, namely Salman Farsi, Hirsa Polymer and Kourosh, are being developed in Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone in Khuzestan Province. Four other plants, namely Entekhab, Mehrpetro Kimia, Azaran and Razavi, are being completed in Bushehr.
Their products are used entirely in the domestic market.
"Propylene is a strategic commodity in the petrochemical industries. It can be transformed into value added products like polypropylene and create jobs in the downstream petrochemical sector," he said.
Iran produces a large variety of petrochemicals (350 types), for which there is high international demand, and exports to 30 Asian, European and South American countries.
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.
The state-owned NPC is the top regulatory body of the petrochemical industry.
Propylene is a colorless fuel gas with a naturally pungent smell. Although similar to propane, it has a double bond that gives it a combustion advantage. It is extremely flammable but non-toxic.
