According to the
facility, the Japanese company NECC, licensed by Germany’s BASF, produced
carbon-based palladium catalysts for Shahid Tondgouyan Petrochemical Company
but stopped supplying the item under the pretext of Western sanctions against Iran.
This is while Shahid
Tondgouyan Petrochemical Company is the only supplier of PET/PTA in Iran.
According to the plant’s
design, 14 tons of palladium catalysts are needed to produce the item and the
catalyst must be replaced after producing every 700,000 tons of the item, but
due to the embargo and lack of supply of the catalyst needed, Shahid Tondgouyan
Petrochemical Company’s engineers developed a new method to revived the
catalyst which is unique in its kind. Likewise, they were able to produce more
than 1.87 million tons of the PET/PTA with the same catalyst.
By doing so, at
least €12.5 million was saved by supplying the palladium catalyst of Phase 2 of
Shahid Tondgouyan Petrochemical Complex.