Having founded in 2002, Petrochemical Research and Technology Company (NPC-RT), in order to establish a pioneer center for fundamental and applied research on petrochemical processes and products, especially polymers, rearranged its organization chart to establish Polymer Research Group. The technical and scientific support of Petrochemical industries has also been another purpose that has been pursued by the company.

The main purpose being followed by Polymer Research Group is scientific and technical self-sufficiency in the production of polymeric materials in domestic petrochemical industries. To this end, the company has focused on the development of polymer production know-how, synthesis of relevant catalyst, development of processes running in domestic petrochemical industries, and finding proper grounds for exporting domestic know-how’s developed via research on polymerization, catalyst synthesis, and customer-oriented activities.

This group has been executing its research programs in three research centers of the company, namely Tehran Center, Arak Center, and Mahshahr Center, as follows:

1.      Tehran Center: research on catalysts used for polymerization reactions.

2.      Arak Center: research on polymerization processes, polymer processing, and carrying out projects in pilot plants

3.      Mahshahr Center: research on PET polymerization process in pilot plants

         Inspecting and optimizing polymer production processes

         Developing know-how for production of highly prioritized polymers

         Developing know-how for production of catalysts employed in polymerization of highly prioritized polymers

         Improving know-how’s being used in domestic petrochemical companies

         Support petrochemical companies scientifically and technically or troubleshoot common problems they face

         Investigation and optimization of processes involved in the production of following polymeric materials to produce new grades

Ø Polyethylene

Ø Polypropylene

Ø Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)

Ø Poly vinyl Chloride (PVC)

Ø Epoxy

Ø Polystyrene

Ø Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)

Ø Poly (Butadiene Rubber)/Styrene Butadiene Rubber (PBR/SBR)

         Industrial-scale production of polymerization catalyst

         Starting-up and troubleshooting of polycarbonate plant in Khozestan petrochemical company

         Developing production know-how of polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymers, and UHMWPE

         Developing catalysts used in Poly(ethylene terephthalate) process in Tondgoyan petrochemical company

         Starting-up and utilizing Polyisoprene and PTMEG pilot plants

         Making Polyethylene and Polypropylene PDP by patterning on purchased new technologies

         Industrial-scale production of Metallocene catalysts

         Synthesis of catalysts copolymerizing ethylene and polar monomers

         Investigating and optimizing polycarbonate process to stably produce new grades

         Producing Ziegler-Natta catalysts for ethylene polymerization and bimodal polyethylene synthesis

         Producing Ziegler-Natta catalyst for synthesizing Polypropylene in pilot plant scale

         Producing Metallocene catalysts for ethylene polymerization in lab-scale

        Producing Metallocene catalysts for propylene polymerization in lab-scale

         Kinetics study of Ziegler-Natta based ethylene polymerization

         Modeling ethylene polymerization kinetically and investigating the effect of process conditions

         Simulating and developing purchased process and Gas Phase Polymerization Pilot

         Purchasing, installing, and starting-up polyethylene/polypropylene (spheripol/spherilene) pilots

         Extending gas phase process to produce UHMWPE

         Study polypropylene production processes

         Quantitative and qualitative kinetic study of bulk and gas phase polymerization of polypropylene and corresponding copolymers

         Morphology study of polypropylene and corresponding copolymers

         Establishing polypropylene bulk polymerization set-up

         Designing polypropylene bench scale set-up based on spheripol process

         Purchasing, installing, and starting-up polyethylene/polypropylene (spheripol/spherilene) pilots

         Starting-up Poly(ethylene terephthalate) pilot in Mahshahr Center

         Substituting PET process catalysts by highly efficient catalysts (e.g. based on Germanium)

         Modeling Poly(ethylene terephthalate) polymerization process

         Recycling Poly(ethylene terephthalate)

         Developing new grades Poly(ethylene terephthalate) by applying additives

         Developing new grades for bottle, fiber, and film apart from what is included in the license purchased

         Synthesizing new polyesters like PPT, PBT, PEN, …

         Synthesizing biodegradable polyesters

         Studying epoxy resin polymerization process by employing patents and engineering documents of the similar pilot installed in Khozestan petrochemical company

         Carrying out research on epoxy production process in Khozestan petrochemical company to improve and optimize it

         Troubleshooting polycarbonate polymerization pilot in Khozestan petrochemical company

         Installing and starting-up polycarbonate polymerization pilot completely in Khozestan petrochemical company

         Studying Polyvinyl Chloride process and evaluation of different additive effects in the production of sPVC in bench scale

         Designing and making PVC pilot plant based on Vinnolit technology

         Feasibility study on rearranging Polyisoprene pilot plant for other applications

         Rearranging Polyisoprene pilot plant to a proper substitute

         Designing and making Polystyrene pilot plant

         Investigation on PTMEG local market

         Investigation on the establishment of a PTMEG plant with a capacity of 15000 ton/year based on technology employed in the pilot plant available

         Feasibility study on rearranging PTMEG pilot plant for other applications