Iran Saves $8.5 Million by Localizing Synthetic Zeolite Production
WANA (Nov 15) – A knowledge-based Iranian company has produced a high-grade synthetic zeolite powder entirely in-house — a breakthrough expected to save the country $8.5 million annually by replacing imports in the gas, medical, and chemical sectors.
Amana Torabi, a chemical engineering PhD and a technologist in the company’s R&D division, said the Behdash Chemical Company consists of nine active subsidiaries, with part of its operations dedicated to manufacturing essential chemical materials.
One of its most strategic outputs, she explained, is a synthetic zeolite powder that not only competes with foreign equivalents but, in several technical aspects, surpasses them.
According to Torabi, the product is used in natural gas mercaptan removal and in oxygen–nitrogen separation applications central to medical equipment and oxygen-generating systems.
The powder also serves as a base material for producing industrial granules and extrudates. Although natural zeolite deposits exist in abundance in Iran, the company’s new product is a fully synthetic version, with all raw materials produced internally. “The entire production chain, from zero to the final product, is completed domestically,” she said.
She emphasized that the powder-production technology is a key step in manufacturing downstream granules. Beyond detergents and cleaning materials, the company’s zeolite is also used across the oil and gas sector. All research, development, and manufacturing phases have been carried out inside Iran, without reliance on foreign inputs.
Torabi noted that natural gas purification currently accounts for the largest share of the product’s industrial use. The reference laboratory of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) has completed final testing and approved the product, which is set to be deployed for the first time in Iran at the South Pars Phase 9 gas refinery.
The company has the capacity to produce 3,000 tons of the material annually. Although the powder is not made in nanoscale form, it qualifies as a knowledge-based product due to the use of nanotechnology at specific stages of its production process — enhancements that improve performance and technical characteristics.
According to Torabi, domestic production and industrialization of the synthetic zeolite will prevent an estimated $8.5 million in foreign currency outflow, marking a significant step toward technological and economic self-sufficiency.
Iran Saves $8.5 Million by Localizing Synthetic Zeolite Production. Social media/ WANA News Agency
