According to a company statement, the strategic
equipment — previously fully imported — was developed over a six-month period
through collaboration between Arvand’s technical services and maintenance teams
and the knowledge-based firm Mashal Sazan Karun. The units have now been
installed and are operational in the company’s process lines.
In caustic concentration via evaporation, the
vapor stream carries fine alkaline droplets that can severely corrode
downstream metal equipment, contaminate steam condensate, and raise maintenance
costs while reducing overall efficiency. The newly localized Knit Mesh, with
its high-precision separation capability, reduces entrained droplets to below
15 parts per million (PPM), or just 0.0015% — a benchmark considered highly
favorable by petrochemical standards.
The mesh units were installed across the three
main stages of the caustic concentration process (equipment 41E-32051,
41E-32052, and 41E-32053). Engineers selected stainless steel 316 for the first
stage and nickel alloy series 200/201 for the subsequent stages to ensure
superior corrosion resistance, high separation efficiency, and minimal pressure
drop.
The project offers both technical and strategic
benefits: protecting downstream assets from corrosion, enhancing process
stability, reusing condensates to reduce industrial water consumption, and
eliminating the need for expensive high-end imports. The move also strengthens
domestic technical capabilities and infrastructure in mesh separation systems,
replacing worn and underperforming foreign units with engineered, field-tested
alternatives.
The localization effort aligns with Iran’s
“resistance economy” policies and the strategic vision of Persian Gulf
Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), Arvand’s parent group.
Arvand’s success in achieving global-grade
separation standards represents a shift from assembly-based manufacturing to
independent design in Iran’s petrochemical equipment sector. This breakthrough
could pave the way for domestic production of other advanced systems such as
demisters, structured packings, and mist eliminators, potentially opening new
export markets in the region and deepening Iran’s capabilities in high-end
industrial equipment manufacturing.