The Eslamabad-e-Gharb Petrochemical Plant, under construction in Kermanshah Province, will convert gas to methanol first and then methanol to propylene and finally propylene to polypropylene, which will help complete the value chain in the downstream petrochemical sector, managing director of the National Petrochemical Company said.
“This knowledge-based project is very important for the country, as it is being developed with Iranian knowhow and using domestic catalysts. It will decrease the sale of raw materials and create more added value and jobs in the petrochemical industry,” Morteza Shahmirzaei was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
The project is the first of its kind in the domestic petrochemical industry, which is to produce propylene and polypropylene from gas.
“The gas to polypropylene plant [GTPP] is a unique model for implementing similar projects in the future,” he added.
The plant is expected to come on stream by 2024 and cost $545 million. The executive operation of the project is defined in three phases.
In the first phase, natural gas will be converted to methanol. The plant is estimated to produce 660,000 tons per year.
The second phase is the conversion of methanol to propylene with an annual capacity of 120,000 tons and the last phase will be the production of polypropylene with a capacity of 120,000 tons per year.
Stretching over 54 hectares in Eslamabad-e-Gharb County, the plant will create 4,500 direct jobs during the construction phase and contribute to the economic growth of the western province, namely by creating jobs. When operational, 2.1 mcm of natural gas will be delivered to the plant per day.
The construction of the GTPP plant was started last year by domestic engineers. Researchers at the Petrochemical Research and Technology Company, affiliated to NPC, have gained the knowhow to build the plant.
PRTC is the mainstay for research and production of technology in all petrochemical fields. It ensures tech security and contributes to economic growth by exporting knowhow.
Iran now has a production capacity of about 1 million tons of propylene per annum, but needs about 4 million tons annually.
The construction of other GTPP facilities is planned to produce not only propylene but also propylene derivatives. Upon completion, they are expected to produce 4 million tons of propylene by 2025.
Propylene - the second most important starting product in the petrochemical industry after ethylene - is an important commodity. It can be transformed into value added goods like polypropylene and create jobs in the downstream sector.
Global Status
A recent study by the strategic consulting and market research firm BlueWeave Consulting revealed that the global propylene output was 90.6 million tons in 2021 and is projected to reach 132.1 million tons by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 6.1% over the analysis period of 2022-28.
Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the propylene market during the forecast period owing to the thriving construction, packaging, automobile and textile sectors in the region.
China, as the foremost producer of textile electronics plastics, is expected to lead the propylene market in the upcoming years. In the Asia-Pacific region, China, Japan, India and South Korea are among the world’s foremost customers of propylene and are expected to boost the market growth during the forecast period.
The expansion in the propylene market can be primarily attributed to the large array of properties exhibited by propylene that expands its employability across several sectors.
Propylene is the simplest member of the alkene family; it is a colorless gas having a faint petroleum-like odor. Propylene is a prominent feedstock in the petroleum industry used in the manufacture of propylene glycol, isopropyl alcohol, polygas chemical, acetone and acrylic acid.
