Baku, Azerbaijan, May 16
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran has banned imports of MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl) - a gasoline additive that enhances octane to reduce knock - from China.
Saeid Mahjoubi, an official at the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, said although a consignment of MMT has been imported by Shiraz Oil Refinery, but it has not been permitted to use MMT in its gasoline output, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on May 16.
He also said that just 10 percent of the country's total gasoline output is mixed with methyl tertiary butyl-ether (MTBE) - a fuel oxygenate that can help gasoline burn more cleanly.
In January Iranian media outlets reported that the country imported a 100-tonnes consignment of MMT recently from China for its Shiraz refinery.
In October, Head of the Healthcare and Medical Education Ministry's Environment Protection Center, Kazem Nadafi, said approximately 2700 people in Tehran die each year because of heavy air pollution in the country, ISNA reported.
Last year, according to PSI (Pollutant Standards Index), Iran had 147 days during which air quality was substandard. Two years ago, this number stood at 217 days.
Motor vehicles account for 70 percent of pollution in the Iranian capital. Low quality gasoline and diesel is partially responsible for the problem.