Indigenized Platinum-Based Catalyst Is Unveiled in Kish

EghtesadOnline: Platinum-rhodium catalyst used to produce isocyanates in the petrochemical industry has been indigenized by Iranian knowledge-based companies and was unveiled at the second specialized exhibition and conference to support domestic manufactures in Kish Island in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, the managing director of Karoon Petrochemical Company said.

News ID: ۷۸۶۰۵۹

20 February 2021

“The platinum-based catalyst is used to produce nitric acid and was imported from Russia, India and Germany with much difficulty due to the US economic blockade. It is now produced by domestic experts and engineers,” ILNA quoted Alireza Sediqizadeh as saying.

Donald Trump, the beleaguered and openly hostile former US president, announced tough sanctions on Iran in August 2018 targeting key industrial sectors. In May of that year he tore up the landmark 2015 nuclear deal Iran had signed with six world powers and in November (2018) imposed more sanctions against key sectors.

In addition to high quality of the locally-made catalyst, its production cost is much less compared to imports, Sediqizadeh added.

"Isocyanates are important chemicals that are difficult to store and transport. Globally about 8 million tons of isocyanates are produced a year. Only nine companies in the world produce it and Karoon is one.”

Isocyanates are a family of highly reactive, low molecular weight chemicals widely used in the manufacture of polyurethane foams, insulation, refrigerators and board or laminate form, residential sheathing or commercial roofing, floor finishes, wood finishes and paint, adhesive and sealant compounds, automobile parts, shoe soles, roller skate wheels, pond liners and blood bags.

A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction but is not consumed by it. Most solid catalysts are metals or oxides, sulfides and halides of metallic elements and semi-metallic elements such as boron, aluminum and silicon.

With 160 domestic oil equipment manufacturers, knowledge-based companies, petrochemical firms, banks and investment companies, the three-day petrochemical expo in Kish provided a platform to interact, share ideas, discuss business opportunities and services and boost support for domestic production.