Iran Daily reported that Iran launched the development plan of Tabriz Petrochemical Company in an effort to boost the production of polystyrene.
Mr Masoud Mirkazemi oil minister of Iran attended the opening ceremony of the project. The development plan includes the production of polystyrene in the TPC which is located in the northwestern part of the country.
It is expected that the new project would produce 54,000 tonnes of polystyrene annually generating USD 76 million per year in its final stage. About USD 21 million have been invested for the design, construction and implementation of the polystyrene project with cooperation of the private sector.
The project which would meet the country's requirements began 5 years ago. Tabriz Petrochemical Company currently produces about 15,000 tonnes of polystyrene annually while the country's requirement is about five fold. Importing the product would be cut following the launch of the project.
Polystyrene is a type of polymer with thermoplastic properties produced from the petroleum derived monomer, styrene. In solid form, polystyrene is a colorless and rigid plastic and it may also be returned to a liquid by heating and used again for molding or extrusion.
Polystyrene is used to produce many products for industrial and consumer use. In fact, its presence as a plastic in everyday life is second only to polyethylene.
Mr Mirkazemi said that Iran has exported USD 8.7 billion worth of petrochemical products in the first ten months of the Iranian year indicating 61% increase in value compared to the same period of last year. Despite the sanctions and international pressure on Iran the petrochemical industry succeeded in producing more than 1.5 billion liters of gasoline.
The minister who was attending the inauguration ceremony of the strengthened polystyrene plant in Tabriz Petrochemical Company added that in this period Iran exported 13.2 million tonnes of petrochemical products. In these period sales of petrochemical products to foreign countries increased 27% compared to last year.
(Sourced from Iran Daily)
