German Firm Starts Developing 2 PDH Plants

Germany’s Uhde GmbH has commenced the development of two propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plants in the cities of Mahshahr in Khuzestan Province and Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province.

According to NIPNA, the National Petrochemical Company’s official news service, the PDH plant in Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone, named Salman Farsi Petrochemical Complex, has made 15% physical progress.

The plant, aimed at producing 450,000 tons of polypropylene from propane as feedstock, has received licensing from Uhde GmbH. The German company also participates in engineering, procurement and operation of the project.

Propane dehydrogenation is a step in the production of propylene from propane. Propylene is the second most important starting product in the petrochemical industry after ethylene. It is the raw material for plastic polypropylene, a component that is mainly used in the automotive, textile and packaging industries.

The plant in Mahshahr is expected to be completed by 2020 and will provide feedstock for nearby petrochemical complexes, including Rejal, Marun and Navid-Zar Chimi.

Uhde GmbH, based in Dortmund, Germany, is part of German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG.

In cooperation with Japan’s Mitsui, Uhde has provided the technical know-how to build a similar PDH plant in Asalouyeh with the same output capacity.

Uhde is reportedly collaborating with South Korea’s Daelim Corporation on the engineering aspect of the project.  

The PDH plant in Asalouyeh is slated to become operational in two to three years. It is planned to receive 650,000 tons of propane annually from South Pars Gas Field.

According to recent reports, Iran’s polypropylene production capacity has reached nearly 1 million tons per year, which is expected to double during the country’s sixth five-year economic development plan (2017-22).

In addition, Jam Petrochemical Company has recently conducted negotiations with a multinational company, Honeywell UOP, over the construction of a PDH unit, which would produce 550,000 tons of polypropylene per annum.

Honeywell UOP, formerly known as UOP LLC, is involved in developing and delivering technology to the petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical production and major manufacturing industries.