Iran|Science, Technology and Industry update thread

[Philosopher]

Iran annual petchem output nearing 100 mln tons: Minister
Thursday, 25 June 2020 1:48 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 25 June 2020 1:48 PM ]

Photo released on June 25, 2020 by IRNA agency shows local authorities in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province opening a petrochemical complex in the city of Miandoab upon a video call by President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran has opened two major petchem projects in northwest and center of the country to add some 25 million tons of capacity to its annual output.

Using a video conference call on Thursday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani opened the Miandoab Petrochemical Complex, a facility for production of polyethylene located in the West Azerbaijan province on the border with Turkey.

Rouhani also gave the go-ahead for the start of works at a hexane production unit at Shazand Refinery, a major petchem complex located in Markazi province.

Iran’s Oil Minister BIjan Namdar Zanganeh said launching the new projects would help Iran increase its gross annual output of petchem products to 100 million metric tons by March 2021 from 70 million tons currently.

Miandoab Petrochemicals would feed on ethylene transferred from southern Iran through a 1,660-kilometer pipeline, the longest in the world which has enabled Iran to economize fuel consumption in refineries located west of the country.

The refinery in Miandoab has cost over $100 million and is capable of producing some 140,000 tons of heavy polyethylene each year, said a report by the official IRNA news agency.

Another petchem project launched on Thursday was a unit for production of hexane, a key constituent of gasoline, in Shazand Refinery. Authorities said the scheme would generate around $45 million in revenues for Iran through an increase of half a million liters in gasoline production per day.

Iran has continued to develop its oil industry regardless of a series of harsh American sanctions that have been in place since November 2018.

The country’s petchem sector has thrived massively at the time of sanctions as refineries keep sending major shipments to countries around the world, generating over $20 billion in revenues for the government each year.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/06/25/628246/Iran-Rouhani-petrochemical-projects-opening

 

[Philosopher]

Cold plasma anti viral steriliser:

Iran is one of the top 5 producers of such a systems.

https://www.aparat.com/v/BRcur/بومی_سازی_دستگاه_ضد_عفونی_کننده_پلاسما_سرد

Thanks to Raghfarm007 for posting this.

 

[Philosopher]

Iran saves 600-million-euro currency over pharmaceutical items: Health Min.
Jun 30, 2020

Tehran (IP) - Iran's Minister of Health said within last year the country experienced a 600-million-euro decrease of currency over its pharmaceutical needs.
Iran Press/ Iran news: Delivering a speech in Pharmex 2020 expo opening ceremony on Tuesday, Saeed Namaki said Iran had a 30-percent increase in the pharmaceutical domestic production rate.

Namaki mentioned 60 Iranian companies produce effective pharmaceutical materials that support %70 of the whole domestic needs in the pharmaceutical industry.

"Also, only within 60 days, we reached the production level from the import level, and moved forward to the export of COVID-19 pharmaceutical products" he noted.

He pointed to pharmaceutical packaging as a totally domestic process and said that the intermediate chemical-based materials are going to be produced in large scales.

The Iranian health minister also mentioned the attraction of investors and the introduction of the domestic potentials in the field of pharmaceutical products as the aims of the event.

200 companies are producing the domestic pharmaceutical items while 70 packaging companies also support the domestic pharmaceutical industry fully, the top health official said.

The head of Pharmex 2020 Faramarz Ekhteraee for his part highlighted a publishing book that estimates the market size and compares it with the domestic production, for the first time.

The international exhibition for the pharmaceutical industry (Pharmex 2020) inaugurated in the Olympic Hotel in Tehran with the virtual attendance of health minister, experts and producers in the field from Belgium, Armenia, Australia, Mauritania, Norway.

Pharmex 2020 is underway at the Olympic Hotel in Tehran from 30 June to 2 July 2020.

104/219

https://iranpress.com/iran-i149096-...currency_over_pharmaceutical_items_health_min.

 

[Philosopher]

Six solar plants to open as Iran expands renewable portfolio
Wednesday, 01 July 2020 10:08 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 01 July 2020 10:34 AM ]

Kourdeh is the biggest of the plants, built by a private developer with 11 million euros.
Six new solar plants will come online in Fars province in southern Iran Thursday, marking another watershed in the country’s path to a decarbonized energy system and expanding its renewable portfolio.

President Hassan Rouhani and Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian will oversee the commissioning of the plants, including the 10-megawatt Kourdeh project in Larestan, via a video conference, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

“These industrial power projects, which have entered the operation phase mainly with foreign investment, beside promising utilization of clean energy, suggest the ineffectiveness of the pressures caused by oppressive sanctions against our country,” the news agency said.

Kourdeh is the biggest of the plants, built by a private developer with 11 million euros of investment.

"With the operation of this power plant, an annual release of 13,712 tonnes of environmental pollutants will be avoided, and 4,272 cubic meters of water will be saved a year," the Fars province’s deputy governor Jalil Hosseini told IRNA.

The other plants will become operational in Shiraz, Eqlid, Lamerd and Nayriz. They will collectively add 33 megawatts of new capacity to Iran's national grid.

They will also raise overall renewable energy capacity in Fars province to 58.6 megawatts, Hosseini told IRNA. He said permits have been issued to set up 17 more solar plants with capacities ranging from one to 25 megawatts in the province.

Renewable energy is booming in Iran, but new US sanctions under President Donald Trump have disrupted some of Tehran’s expansion plans.


Before Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in May 2018, the Islamic Republic expected its installed renewable capacity to grow at least sevenfold over the next five years.

Norway’s Saga Energy cancelled a $2.9 billion deal to install 2,380 megawatts (MW) in renewable capacity in the oil-producing country.

British firm Quercus had signed a deal to help build the world’s sixth-largest solar farm in central Iran, investing over half a billion euros, but it abandoned the project in fear of the US sanctions.

Dutch energy firm Global Renewables Investments (GRI) planned to build up solar and wind farms that could produce up to 1,700 MW of electricity, but it followed its European peers in leaving Iran.

Iran’s ambition is to install 5,000 of renewables by 2022, according to officials. The country is a signatory of the 2015 Paris climate agreement committing 195 nations to limit their carbon emissions.

Scientific studies suggest Iran can increase electricity generation from the renewables to up to 80,000 MW, of which around 80 percent can come from the solar energy.

Increase in renewable capacity can also allow Iran to free up a significant amount of natural gas burnt in thermal power plants and feed it to export pipelines.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Iran dominated the Middle East’s renewable production capacity which rose 13 percent to 22,710 megawatts (MW) last year.

The country accounted for 57 percent of the Middle East’s total in 2019 and 63 percent in 2018, the agency said in a report. Renewables accounted for 26 percent of total power capacity expansion last year in the Middle East, it said.

Hyropower comprises the bulk of Iran’s renewable capacity, nominally put at 12,000 MW. Hydroelectric plants, however, produced less for many years because of a protracted drought which caused dam levels to plunge. According to officials, Iran’s hydroelectric power plants can produce at least 10,000 MW.

The country has an additional renewable production capacity of some 900 MW from other sources such as wind power, solar farms and burning of biomass and waste.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/01/628656/Iran-solar-power-plants--renewable-US-sanctions

 

[Sina-1]

Norway’s Saga Energy cancelled a $2.9 billion deal to install 2,380 megawatts (MW) in renewable capacity in the oil-producing country.

This one reeks corruption! What is Norway doing in solar power? They have no state of the art technology here. Furthermore, who is even saga energy? Never heard about it and there is practically nothing about them on the net (apart from their own generic website and a few articles). Thank god it got cancelled!

 

[Philosopher]

Iran to use heat from power plants to run desalination projects: Minister

Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian says massive desalination projects located south of the country would be no longer an environmental concern as they would rely on waste heat collected from power plants as their main source of energy.

Ardakanian said on Tuesday that electricity factories in Iran would provide the energy needed to run major desalination projects along the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Desalination, the process to filter and evaporate sea water, is a very energy-intensive and leads to high levels of pollution because of emissions of greenhouse gases.

However, Ardakanian said Iran’s use of modern technology would boost efficiency and final costs of desalination.

“Supplying energy to a desalination unit through using the exhaust of gas-fired and combined-cycle power plants would both increase efficiency at thermal power plants and help supply drinking water to a bulk of coastline provinces,” he said.

Iran, an arid country facing droughts and shortage of water, is working on two major desalination projects to transfer water from southern seas to provinces located in the Iranian Plateau.

“Surveys are being carried out for supplying water to 17 provinces using saline sea water and through installation of desalination (plants) ...,” Ardakanian told the semi-official Fars news agency.

The minister also added that a second phase of the country’s largest desalination factory, opened two years ago in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, would come on line within the next few weeks.

“... (this) would ensure supply of more than enough water to Bandar Abbas and surrounding cities,” he said.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/07/629111/Iran-desalination-exhaust-heat-power-plants

 

[Philosopher]

Iran Inaugurates Biggest N. Gama Irradiation Site

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Tuesday inaugurated its biggest nuclear gamma irradiation site in the Western province of Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiyari, as a safe and effective process to control the microbial contamination of dry food ingredients.
“The gamma irradiation site is a big help to the exporters to send their products to other countries based on standards,” said Seyed Reza Rafiyee, the CEO of knowledge-based Sharparto company which has launched the site.

Iran had also 9 years ago inaugurated another gamma irradiation site in the Southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan.

As irradiation is chemical and residue free, it has little or no effect on properties such as appearance, flavor, texture or aroma.

Irradiation is a technique used in food production. It can be used to kill bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as salmonella, campylobacter and E. Coli. It also helps to preserve food and reduce food waste.

During irradiation, food is exposed to electron beams, X-rays or gamma rays. The effect is similar to other preservation methods, such as pasteurisation or cooking. The appearance and texture of the food changes less during irradiation than other preservation methods.

Irradiated food has been exposed to radiation but does not become radioactive itself.

https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990424000833

 

[Philosopher]

Iran world’s fourth largest producer of honey: Official
Wednesday, 15 July 2020 2:40 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 July 2020 2:55 PM ]

An Iranian official says the country has the world’s fourth largest output of honey.
A senior Iranian agriculture ministry official says the country has become the fourth largest producer of honey in the world while maintaining the same global position in the total number of bee colonies.

Farhad Moshir Ghaffari, who leads Iran’s nationwide beekeeping program, said on Wednesday that total honey output in the country had reached 112,500 metric tons over the past calendar year ending March 2020, an increase of 24 percent year on year.

Moshir Ghaffari said the number of bee colonies in Iran had also increased to top 10.6 million in 98,000 bee farms in October 2019.

Iranian beekeepers harvest an average of 11 kilograms of honey from each hive, he said, adding that Iran's output of other bee-related products had also increased over the past calendar year, with beeswax reaching 2,220 tons, propolis- or bee glue used to build hives – at 124 tons and pollen topping 285 tons.

The official said Iran’s ministry of agriculture will continue to implement programs that would both help beekeepers increase their output while contributing to better yields for other crops through using pollinating bees in orchards and farms.

“We are ready ... to station a significant number of beehives in some agricultural and orchard lands as part of a pilot scheme,” said Moshir Ghaffari, adding that bee pollination has been proven as a major factor in boosting crop yield, especially in oilseed farming.

Farming continued to grow in Iran for a second fiscal year in a row in March as government said the sector had expanded by more than nine percent.

The growth has been mainly a result of better weather conditions as well as government’s efforts to help increase exports of agrifood from the country.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/15/629677/Iran-farming-honey-output-global-rank

 

[Philosopher]

President Rouhani Launches Major Water Desalination Project in Iran’s South


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday launched the second phase of a major water desalination plant in the country’s southern province of Hormozgan.
The desalination plant in Bandar Abbas, with a capacity of treating 20,000 cubic meters of saltwater daily, was launched by the president during a ceremony held via videoconference on Thursday.

The first phase with the same treating capacity came on stream in 2017.

The government has promised to fully run the desalination facility, with a total capacity of 100,000 cubic meters, by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021).

In early July, Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said massive desalination projects located south of the country would be no longer an environmental concern as they would rely on waste heat collected from power plants as their main source of energy.

He said that electricity factories in Iran would provide the energy needed to run major desalination projects along the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Iran, an arid country facing droughts and shortage of water, is working on two major desalination projects to transfer water from southern seas to provinces located in the Iranian Plateau.

https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/...or-water-desalination-project-in-iran-s-south

 

[Ich]

Maybe this thread could be done sticky. The technological development of Iran goes faster and faster and it would be good to have a point in forum where one can find such information without much searching through the whole forum.

 

[Raghfarm007]

Iran to start manufacturing laser lamps in Tabriz:

https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/...ولیدکننده-لامپ-های-لیزری-در-دنیا-تبدیل-می-شود

 

[Ich]

So now we know some of the raw materials Iran is easily working around, whereas me think aluminia ceramic powder could be used for building parts of high pressure/high temperature turbines...


Iranian Researchers Produce over 150 Types of High-Purity Chemical Materials

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian scientists at a knowledge-based company affiliated to Amir Kabir University of Technology succeeded in the production of more than 150 high-purity chemical materials.
“These materials include over 150 types of salts of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, potassium, cesium, calcium, magnesium, barium, copper, silver, platinum, palladium, zirconium, cerium, cesium, lead, lanthanum, chromium, titanium, Iron, aluminum, tin, antimony, vanadium, molybdenum, tungsten, boron, ammonium and sodium,” Mehran Javanbakht, a senior member of the Faculty of Chemistry of Amirkabir University of Technology, said on Saturday.

“It is predicted that 50 other high-purity chemicals will be added to the product portfolio by the yearend,” he added.

Javanbakht said that high-purity chemicals have various applications in the food, pharmaceutical, electronics, petrochemical and laboratories of academic and industrial centers.

In a relevant development last month, an Iranian knowledge-based company produced a new alumina ceramic powder with applications in different gas, oil, petrochemicals and catalyst industries, exporting it to foreign states.

"The alumina ceramic powder is resistant to high attrition and chemical changes even in high temperatures," Seyed Ahmad Sharifnia, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company, said.

He added that given the good quality of the knowledge-based product, the company has been able to export it to other countries, including Turkey.

Sharifnia also said that at present talks are being held with an Italian company for the export of ceramic powder to the European country.

https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990428000268

 

[Philosopher]

Iran successfully tests 5G in lab in Tehran
Wednesday, 22 July 2020 12:15 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 22 July 2020 12:17 PM ]

Photo published on July 22, 2020 shows a view to a site where Iran’s second largest mobile operator MTN Irancell launched a first lab testing site for 5G high-speed mobile internet in the Iranian capital Tehran.
An Iranian deputy telecoms minister says a first trial in the country for the high-speed 5G mobile internet technology has been successfully carried out in a laboratory in Tehran.

Sattar Hashemi said on Wednesday that the test conducted in the ICT Research Center in downtown Tehran had reached a speed of 1.5 gigabits per second (Gb/s).

“The 5G is a major improvement on 4G regarding the delay in sending information and we managed to reduce the delay by 5 to 6 milliseconds in this test,” Hashemi told the semi-official Mehr news agency.

A separate report by the official IRNA news agency said the testing site had been launched by Iran’s second largest mobile operator MTN Irancell.

The report said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani oversaw the trial through a video conference call from his Cabinet session.

Hashemi did not elaborate on any exact timetable for rolling out the fifth generation of mobile internet in Iran.

He said high-ranking government officials would soon hold a ceremony to officially unveil 5G in the country and announce the terms of its regulation and pricing systems.

Previous statements by ICT officials have suggested that Iran’s largest mobile operator MCI would launch a first batch of 5G masts in at least six locations in Tehran by the end of summer.

Hashemi said the test trial in ICT research center would enable all stakeholders of the ethnology in Iran, including other mobile operators, to contribute to the project.

He said speeds of up to 20 Gb/s, which are much higher than the one reached during the Wednesday lab trial in Iran, would depend on various factors, including the size of investment in the project.

“However, the average considered for this (5G) will be a speed between 1.5 to 2 Gb/s,” he said.

Iran has not disclosed any information about which global supplier it is using to launch the 5G mobile network. However, the MCI and other operators have been engaged in partnerships with major Chinese telecommunication companies in the past.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/22/630184/Iran-5G-internet-testing-trial-Tehran

 

[Tamiyah]

Impressive performance by IRAN.

 

[Ich]

Huawei?