Kermanshah Company Ready to Produce Key Petrochem Catalyst

The unit is expected to be completed next year and produce 50 tons of catalysts per year to be used to convert ethylene to polyethylene, the head of the company said.

Studies have been carried out by research teams of the company and the indigenized catalyst, produced for the first time in Iran, will replace the catalyst that is imported from Japan, Ali Rostamabadi was reported as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Founded in 2012, Kermanshah Polymer Company produces 300,000 tons of polyethylene per annum. It receives natural gas as feedstock from Asalouyeh via the West Ethylene Pipeline.

The WEP is 1,700 kilometers long and runs from the port city of Asalouyeh off the Persian Gulf in the south to the northwest.

It supplies ethylene as feedstock to 12 petrochemical factories along the way including in Mahabad, Mahshahr, Andimeshk, Lorestan, Kermanshah, Hamedan, Kurdestan and Miandoab.

The pipeline’s annual capacity is 3.5 million tons, 2.5 million tons of which comes from the major South Pars Gas Field and the rest from Gachsaran field in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province.

Polyethylene is the world's most versatile and widely produced polymer. High-density polyethylene is a thermoplastic polymer produced from monomer ethylene. It is used for producing plastic bottles, corrosion-resistant piping, geomembranes and plastic lumber.

Last year, the Petrochemical Research and Technology Company produced SAC500 catalyst to augment production of PE-100 pipes that have higher and long-term durability with application in oil, gas, water and wastewater networks.

PE-100 has an optimum balance of three key properties, one of which is minimum required strength that provides not only stress crack resistance but also long-term strength as well as rapid crack propagation resistance.

Demand for polyethylene worldwide is expected to jump due to increase in packaged goods and fast changing urban lifestyles. Easy availability and affordable PE prices are likely to boost market growth.

However, increasing environmental concerns and health awareness issues among consumers worldwide are expected to act as key restraining factors for the market. Meanwhile, introduction and development of bio-based and bio-degradable polyethylene is likely to open new vistas for market growth.

The global high-density polyethylene market was worth $106.3 billion in 2019. It is expected to grow annually by 8% and reach $148.53 billion by 2023.

Iran’s annual polymer production is 7.4 million tons and is projected to reach 12 million tons by 2022, as per the Sixth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2016-2021).