Domestic companies have started operations to develop Pardis Petrochemical Company at the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in the southern Bushehr Province to increase urea production capacity by 1 million tons, a deputy manager at the company said.
“The project entails the construction of a unit to produce eco-friendly urea fertilizer by mixing carbon dioxide with ammonia,” Mohammad Ali Soleimani was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Estimated to cost $350 million, the new unit is expected to reduce Co2 emissions in the region by at least 800,000 tons per year, he added.
The research and development unit of Pardis Petrochemical Company, in collaboration with the researchers of the Faculty of Modern Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, has succeeded in using carbon dioxide to make the new commodity that will be mass produced.
The official noted that innovative nanoparticles that do not contain any chemicals or chemical solvents in their structure have been used in the process of producing the new urea, which does not damage the environment by preventing the slow release of formaldehyde into the atmosphere.
In addition to raising the output, the project has environmental advantages and reduces hazardous emission.
Soleimani said the product is the result of 13 years of research, which will help increase profit, raise product quality, enhance competitive advantage and attract new customers from developed countries.
Slow-release fertilizers release a small and steady amount of nutrients over a course of time. Using such fertilizers eliminates the risk of fertilizer burn, while also staying in the soil longer.
Urea fertilizer is widely used in Iran and worldwide as a nitrogen supply for a group of plants, including wheat, barley, sunflower and sugarbeet.
Annual Consumption
About 150 million tons of urea fertilizer are used in the world annually, with the figure reaching 2 million tons in Iran.
One of the main exports of Iranian petrochemical companies to countries such as India and Brazil is the urea fertilizer. The annual production of this fertilizer in Iran is 6.5 million tons, of which 4.5 million tons are exported.
Located in the city of Asalouyeh, 270 km southeast of Bushehr Port, Pardis Petrochemical Company has one of the biggest urea and ammonia plants in the Middle East, producing 3 million tons of urea and 2 million tons of ammonia annually.
The output of urea is planned to reach 15 million tons per annum by 2024 after the completion of several projects.
The global urea market exhibited stable growth during 2015-20. The market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of around 3% during 2021-26.
According to a recent report by the New York Times, prices for the chemical are soaring to levels not seen in a decade. In India, a lack of urea has made farmers fear for their livelihoods. In South Korea, it meant truck drivers could not start their engines.
Urea is an important fertilizer, so rising prices could ultimately mean higher costs at dinner tables around the world. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s index of food prices is already at its highest level since 2011.
Anti-Caking Agents
Referring to another development project, the official noted that plans are underway to use anti-caking agents in the production of urea.
Anti-caking agents are ingredients added in small amounts to foods, cosmetics and petrochemicals to prevent products from clumping and binding together.
The use of anti-caking agents in the production of urea will also help increase the shelf life of the product without changing its physicochemical properties and provide an environment-friendly condition.
The sales of Pardis Petrochemical Company increased by 119% in the last fiscal year (September 2021-22) compared with the same period of the previous year.
The plant registered a record in its annual sales, as its revenues reached $1.3 billion for the first time since its establishment.
During this period, the company produced over 3 million tons of urea and more than 2 million tons of ammonia.
The company’s value of ammonia exports rose by 289% and that of urea exports also experienced 85% growth last year compared to the previous year.
