of the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) and prior to the US’s withdrawal [last May], we made our necessary purchases and we even purchased more than we needed.” “Meantime, the Kaveh Industrial Group produces most of its own equipment. Therefore, even if the sanctions are tightened we have enough spare parts and there is nothing to worry about,” he said.Countering SanctionsAfter the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the ensuing imposition of unlawful and unilateral sanctions against Iran’s petroleum industry, managers of petrochemical plants have been concerned with selling petrochemical products and importing some sophisticated equipment. Behzad Mohammadi, CEO of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said that Iran’s current international conditions had recently created some restrictions for the petrochemical industry. “However, petrochemical companies have found very good options to resolve their issues and restrictions. Efforts will be made to avert any specific problem,” he said. Jaberi is also concerned with the sanctions. However, he said: “We know how to counter sanctions in selling our products.” Referring to the three licenses obtained for methanol, urea and ammonia, and carbonate, he said: “After this complex has been launched, the urea unit with capacity of 1.072 million tonnes a year, the ammonia unit with capacity of 726,000 tonnes a year, as well as two methanol units would be established.” Regarding compliance with environmental obligations, Jaberi said: “All sections of this complex have been built in compliance with environmental standards.” The methanol production capacity in Iran’s petrochemical plants currently stands at 5.16 million tonnes a year, which would reach 21.24 million tonnes once the new projects have become operational.What’s Methanol?Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol among others, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated MeOH). Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly by the destructive distillation of wood. Today, methanol is mainly produced industrially by hydrogenation of carbon monoxide. Condensation of methanol to produce hydrocarbons and even aromatic systems is the basis of several technologies related to gas to liquids. These include methanol-to-hydrocarbons (MTH), methanol to gasoline (MTG), and methanol to olefins (MTO), and methanol to propylene (MTP). These conversions are catalyzed by zeolites as heterogeneous catalysts. Production ProcessDesigning methanol units is done through one of the following methods: One method is conventional, through which the methanol synthesis gas is produced from reforming natural gas. The synthesis gas is then compressed in the methanol reactor to be converted into raw methanol, which would in turn be distilled to provide pure methanol. The method has already been used at the Shiraz, Kharg and Fanavaran petrochemical plants. The second method, which mainly applies to larger units with an output of over 1 mt/y, the bulk of synthesis gas reforming is done in the auto thermal reactor (ATR). That needs oxygen, which is directly injected into the ATR reactor along with the fist reformer’s exit gas. Due to
it via national trunkline,” Jaberi said. Until 1990 Iran had no methanol production unit and it had to ship in the necessary methanol. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and during the 1980-1988 imposed war, the NPC envisioned designing a methanol unit to produce 84,000 tonnes of methanol a year. The would-be methanol facility was decided to be built near the Shiraz Petrochemical Plant which is located near methanol consumption units. The facility was launched in 1990, followed by the Kharg, Fanavaran and Zagros methanol plants.The US is currently importing over 85% of its methanol needs, while European nations depend on imports from the Middle East and North Africa for more than 60% of their methanol needs.