Nizhnekamskneftekhim’s modernisation: re-equipment in Butyl Rubber Plant

New production line

The public hearings took place in School No. 31. Some Nizhnekamsk citizens joined the discussion of the project online. A total of 298 people participated in the event, 180 of them watched the hearings on Zoom. Vice head of economic development and project management in the Executive Committee of Nizhnekamsk Municipal District of the Republic of Tatarstan Lenar Akhmetov became the moderator of the meeting.

“Members of public unions, ecologists and Nizhnekamsk citizens participated in the hearings. One could get familiarised with the project in advance. All the documentation was posted on the website of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, on the website of Nizhnekamsk Municipal District and School No. 21,” Akhmetov reminded the audience and then handed over the microphone to Director of Butyl Rubber Plant at Nizhnekamskneftekhim Marat Khairov.

He said that the production of halobutyl rubber was launched over 15 years ago, in March 2004. The production technology of these rubbers was developed by Yarsintez R&D Centre. Nowadays Russia doesn’t have analogous production. Now the capacity of halobutyl rubber production is 150,000 tonnes a year.

The launch of a new production line with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes a year will raise it to 200,000 tonnes. Moreover, the total capacity of Butyl Rubber Plant won’t increase. The nomenclature of products will change.

“Nowadays the company produces halobutyl rubbers that are used to make tubeless tyres. They are eco-friendlier and more economical. Fuel consumption reduces. This is why the demand for such tyres grows year after year,” Director of Butyl Rubber Plant at Nizhnekamskneftekhim Marat Khairov stressed.

In this regard, the management of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC made a decision to increase the production of halobutyl rubbers — the necessary feedstock for tyre manufacturers around the world — by cutting the output of butyl rubbers. The production area won’t have to be expanded.

First in Russia and third in the world

By the way, Butyl Rubber will celebrate its 50^th jubilee in two years — the production of butyl rubber kicked off at Nizhnekamskneftekhim in 1973. Halobutyl rubber became a fellow and simultaneously a serious rival for butyl rubber that’s widely sought-after in the Russian and foreign tyre industry.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim mastered halobutyl rubber in 2004 and became one of the three manufacturers of this valuable and popular product together with the USA’s Exxon and Germany’s Bauer. With time, year after year, Butyl Rubber plant expanded the production of halobutyl rubber brands, which are in demand from all the largest tyre producers.

“The demand for halobutyl rubbers steadily grows. This is a tendency of the world market. This is why the company made a decision to expand the capacities of halobutyl rubber production. At the same time, we are going to increase the capacity by replicating manufacturing chains, by cloning units, that’s to say, by adding analogous equipment to the existing equipment, which has recommended itself in work and we know well,” Director of Butyl Rubber plant at Nizhnekamskneftekhim Marat Khairov says.

The implementation of the project will have a positive impact on Nizhnekamsk’s social and economic development. 66 new jobs are going to be created. Also, taxes paid to the budgets of the republic and the city will rise.

So the project resolves several important issues at once. It is the production of the popular product, reduction in emissions into the atmosphere, upgrade of the equipment, employment of graduates of local specialised educational establishments and a rise in payments made to the urban and republican budgets. The project is set to end in July 2022. During the year, until the project is completed, new employees will do training and study with analogous equipment. They will join the team gradually.

Eco-friendly production

The results of an evaluation of the environmental impact of the project Halobutyl Rubber Production Re-Equipment to 200,000 Tonnes a Year were presented at the hearings. They demonstrated that the documentation meets requirements of Russian environmental protection legislation, the environmental impact is expected to be within the norm.

Head of Environmental Protection at Soyuzkhimpromproect Tatiana Mishanina talked about it in detail.

In addition, equipment will be replaced for a more modern and productive one.

The project envisages the erection of the latest unit by Welding Engineers that separates and dries rubber. It is designed to use a system treating waste air from rubber dust. The equipment installed in degassing and halogenation units will be airtight. Process management is fully automatic.

The dismantlement of the unit I-4D and measures of Environmental Programme 2014-2020 in the plant with the partial removal of butyl rubber drying units from the operation during the construction of new facilities will allow keeping the zero balance in emissions into the atmosphere, there won’t be additional gross emissions at Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC during the project.

The petrochemists reminded the Nizhnekamsk citizens that Nizhnekamskneftekhim had reduced emissions into the atmosphere by more than 60% in the last 20 years thanks to a set of measures and the removal of old equipment from the use.

Emissions in the Nizhnekamsk Industrial Hub have notably decreased too.

The fourth environmental programme designed for seven years ended in 2020. 490 environmental protection measures for 7,96bn rubles were taken. It became possible to reduce the consumption of river water by 13 million cubic metres (18,6%), emissions of polluting substances into the atmosphere by 6,000 tonnes (26%).

The reconstruction of biological treatment facilities and the construction of a new 15-km sewage tank have become the most significant projects for over 3 billion rubles in the last years. This favourably influenced the air, the population’s complaints about unpleasant smells reduced many times.

During the fifth environmental programme, Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC will continue performing tasks to increase environmental efficiency and emergency tolerance, develop environmental protection facilities, create comfortable conditions for the citizens to live.

Social responsibility

Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC continues providing the stability and development of Nizhnekamsk city and Nizhnekamsk Municipal District as a backbone enterprise. First Vice Director General and Chief Engineer of the company Irek Aglyamov talked about this at the public hearings.

For instance, the citizens receive clean potable water from the water treatment plant SOV-NKNK, a subsidiary of Nizhnekamskneftekhim. The plant was built thanks to Nizhnekamskneftekhim’s effort and investments. The company goes on funding its modernisation and necessary equipment and materials.

The mission of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC as a core enterprise is in the amount of taxes paid to all budget levels.

Despite a fall in the financial performance of the company, due to the crisis provoked by COVID-19 in 2020, payments of Nizhnekamskneftekhim’s Group of Companies as well as contractors working in its facilities made to the local budget topped 1,3 billion rubles, which is 70% of the urban budget.

The company has invested 556 million in improving the city only in the last 6 years. It is the reconstruction of the embankment and the Lemayev Square and the construction of a pedestrian area near Neftekhim Arena Ice Palace, the repair of courtyard and main roads, the revamp of the Folk Art House.

Annual investments in mass children and junior sport amount to no less than 400 million rubles. The solemn opening of Neftekhimik football stadium after large-scale reconstruction by the Russian Football Union’s standards took place in September 2020.

While an upgraded shooting range of the enterprise became a great gift for all fans of this sport and can host top competitions. The Council of War and Labour Veterans moved into a new spacious office, the museum Military Glory of Neftekhimik search party opened. 2,120 people have already been on an excursion to the museum, including 54 groups of schoolchildren.

The petrochemists specially cared about health establishments at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Doctors were handed over medical equipment, protective suits and antiseptics for over 34 million rubles. From 2019 to 2020, urban and republican health establishments received more than 160 million rubles of charitable donations. Over 140 million of them were given for the needs of Nizhnekamsk Central Regional Hospital. So Nizhnekamskneftekhim makes a considerable contribution to the well-being of Nizhnekamsk and its citizens.

After the speeches, the audience started to ask numerous questions. As it turned out, people were interested more in road repairs near the dam, the transport reform, the infrastructure of a settlement for large families and other problems that mostly had nothing to do with the public hearings.

The citizens noted that the environment in Nizhnekamsk notably improved, emissions into the atmosphere reduced many times as well as the amount of complaints of the population.

“We see that the enterprise makes big investments in improving the environment. We feel it, we see it people’s feedback, the attitude of Nizhnekamskneftekhim itself to the environment is pleasant to see,” emphasised Khamza Bagmanov, the chairman of the Civic Council of Nizhnekamsk Municipal District.

After the public hearings, the project Halobutyl Rubber Production Re-Equipment to 200,000 Tonnes a Year was approved. The audience voted in favour of it almost unanimously, only one person was against, three — abstained. 168 Nizhnekamsk citizens supported the project online, one abstained.

“Judging by the citizens’ speeches, we can conclude that people see, what big attention the company pays to environmental issues, social policy. Nizhnekamskneftekhim cares about its workers, doesn’t forget about the citizens,” Vice Director General and Chief Engineer of the company Irek Aglyamov said after the votes were counted. “The project that we have presented today is very important from a perspective of ecology. Progress doesn’t stay still. The whole world is switching to tubeless tyres, halobutyl rubbers are used in their production. Such tyres and both eco-friendly and economical.”

“I want to say thanks to everybody. The citizens supported Nizhnekamskneftekhim, demonstrated their social responsibility. We are satisfied with the results of public hearings, the results will be added to the protocol a bit later,” Director of Butyl Rubber plant at Nizhnekamskneftekhim Marat Khairov summed the meeting up.

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