Shahroudi researchers managed to build a knowledge-based product

According to Mehr News Agency quoting the Public Relations of Shahroud Islamic Azad University, Sahebali Manafi stating that the university researchers had succeeded to make sodium sulfate from the wastes of acid factories said, "The product could be selected as a commercial and chosen product at the National Farhikhtegan (Elites) Festival."

Cooperating with his colleague, Amir Saman Ghassabian, in this project, he said, "The project has already been launched as a pilot plant in a workshop with a capacity of 200 tons."

Stating that the design and execution of this project were carried out by a team of seven researchers including the graduates from Azad Universities and other universities, the Research and Technology Deputy of Shahroud Islamic Azad University added, "Sodium Sulfate is generally produced from marble, but we managed to build machines in order to produce it from the wastes of acid factories by processing the waste."

On the application of sodium sulfate, Manafi also said, "This material is used in detergents and paper industry so that 30% of detergent powder and 18% of industrial reactions are involved with sodium sulfate." 

Stating that the launch of the main production line of this product will cost over 4 billion Tomans, he stressed, "The launch of the main production line of this product was proposed in the Semnan Islamic Azad University Council of Knowledge-based Economy, and to up to 30% of the project was decided to be invested by the university. Finally the products of the factory will be sodium sulfate made from sodium bisulfate and sodium carbonate." 

The member of the research team of madding sodium sulfate from the wastes of acid factories continued, "The application of detergents and cleaners is increasingly going up due to the population growth, and since sodium sulfate is used as the raw material in detergent production, the production of this material seems necessary."

Mentioning other applications of sodium sulfate in making sulfate fertilizers, paper industries, dyeing and weaving industries, glass industries, and veterinary drugs, he added, "On one hand, the shortage of this material (around 90 thousand tons per year) is imported, but the imported products are of high quality and cause the outflow of foreign currency from the country." 

Referring that the sodium sulfate is produced through chemical processes in the project which brings the energy use to its possible minimum level, he said, "Optimizing the production processes make it possible for the product to compete the similar foreign samples both in terms of quality and price. The production method of the sodium sulfate is based on optimizing the product procedure through engineering modeling and on taking advantage of the experiences used in domestic industries which brings the required energy to its minimum level and decreases the environmental pollutants, too. 

 

 

The Research and Technology Deputy of Shahroud Islamic Azad University regarded the advantages of the project as the high purity, competitiveness with domestic and foreign similar products and reiterated, "Other advantages of the projects are the reduction in energy consumption, decrease in environmental pollutants sue to the use of physiochemical processes, and the ability to launch and assemble the production lines at the minimum possible time." 

On the consumer of the market of the product, Manafi said, "The market of the product is guaranteed due to the high demand of industry to it which is considered one of the privileges of the project. For example, the consumption of detergents is considered one of the indicators for the measurement of health balance in countries. While the annual consumption of detergents in advanced countries is between 10 and 13 kilos per capita, it is 5.5 kg in Iran, and the global standard announced it to be 7.5 kg for each person."

Finally he noted, "The sodium sulfate is used in detergents and cleaners, sulfate fertilizers, paper industries, dyeing and weaving industries, glass industries, and manufacturing veterinary drugs."