The low density polyethylene unit of Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company in Khuzestan Province registered a production record in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2022).
The LDPE unit of the company has an annual design capacity of 100,000 tons, but last year, the company had a 12% increase in the production of the unit, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
The record amount of production, which happened for the first time during the history of the unit, was achieved through maintenance and development programs.
LDPE is a soft, flexible, lightweight plastic material, noted for its low temperature flexibility, toughness and corrosion resistance. It is not suited for applications where stiffness, high temperature resistance and structural strength are required.
The most popular application of LDPE is plastic bags but its use also revolves around manufacturing containers, dispensing bottles, wash bottles, tubing, plastic bags for computer components and various molded laboratory equipment.
The global LDPE market had a turnover of $35.6 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $44.8 billion by 2026.
Presently, Asia Pacific enjoys the leading position in the market due to the growing application of LDPE in the construction industry.
In addition to domestic sale, Iran exports its LDPE, especially to China. Iran exported 704,555 tons of LDPE to China in 2020 – 21% of its total import of 3.4 million tons.
Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company is located on 270 hectares in Mahshahr on the northwestern side of the Persian Gulf.
The company produced ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene and xylene as the main products of the petrochemical industry. These products are mainly used to convert to intermediate and final products such as LDPE, high density polyethylene, synthetic rubber, polyvinyl chloride and paraxylene.