Nouri Petrochemical Company in southern Bushehr Province has launched a program to increase paraxylene production and the project is due to be completed by the end of the current fiscal, the managing director of the company said.
The program includes changing the molecular sieves in the paraxylene separation unit purchased from Europe, Taqi Sane’i said.
According to the Association of Petrochemical Employers Union, when the unit is upgraded, its production capacity will rise from 1,300 tons to 2,000 tons a day.
“An estimated 1,200 tons of the product will be delivered to other petrochemical complexes and downstream sector in the country and the remaining 800 tons will be exported,” Sane’i added.
Molecular sieves are used for drying gas streams in the petroleum industry. It also has an extensive range of catalytic applications, including in air and liquid filtration systems.
A transparent liquid with no color, paraxylene has high value as it is used to produce terephthalic acid, which is a raw material for polyester, fiber, PET bottles, and films.
Nouri Petrochemical Company is the largest aromatics producing company in Iran with a capacity of about 4.5 million tons a year. It is a subsidiary of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, the largest consortium of domestic petrochemical producers.
Located in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Assalouyeh port off the Persian Gulf, the company was launched in 2007 and produces paraxylene, orthoxaylene, benzene and raffinate.
The company’s aromatic and paraffin products are used mainly in manufacturing polyester, synthetic fibers, paints, resins, disposable bottles, pharmaceutical compounds and pesticides.
Besides domestic use, the company exports to the Persian Gulf Arab neighbors, India, China and South Korea.
