Diesel production in compliance with Euro-4 emission standards has doubled over the last seven months, the main oil refining company said.
Alireza Sadeqabadi, chief executive officer of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, said 42 million liters of Euro-4 diesel is produced in domestic refineries per day of which 75% is used in the transportation sector, ILNA reported.
Daily diesel production capacity has reached 14 million liters in Bandar Abbas Refinery in southern Hormozgan Province. This company accounts for 18% of the total petroleum output including liquefied gas, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel and mazut.
"Installation of a diesel hydrotreating unit has helped raise quality and output in the Bandar Abbas Refinery" he said, adding that the unit has also helped reduce sulfur content in diesel from 10,000 parts per million to 50 ppm.
Euro-4 compliant fuel has sulfur content of 50 parts per million.
The head of NIORDC noted that prior to the distribution of Euro-4 diesel sulfur content in the fuel sold at the pumps was above global limits.
Sadeqabadi added that reducing emissions of pollutants, improving economic performance, optimizing energy consumption, increasing gasoline production, creating jobs and improving the knowhow of workers are among NIORDC's priorities in the refining plants.
Referring to Tabriz Oil Refinery in East Azarbaijan Province, he said the complex spent €365 million over five years on 15 projects to lower the environmental footprint of diesel, among which was the implementation of light naphtha treatment, setting up isomerization equipment and a sulfur granulation unit.
Another unit costing €100 million has recently become operational in the refinery to produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), which conforms to Euro-4 emission standards.
ULSD is a cleaner-burning diesel that contains 90% less sulfur than regular diesel. Since 2006, almost all petroleum-based diesel fuel sold in Europe and North America are ULSD-compliant.
According to the official, the Tabriz complex was equipped with advanced online control systems in 2017 to monitor and reduce air pollution.
"Thanks to online data processing systems, the Department of Environment does not need to send experts to the refinery to measure the emissions or analyze the level of pollutants, such as nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur," the NIORDC boss was quoted as saying.
