SIBUR might start producing metallocene polyethylene using domestic technology
Russian petrochemical group SIBUR might start using domestic technology developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in the production of metallocene polyethylene in Nizhnekamsk, RAS fellow Stepan Kalmykov told Interfax.
He said the academy's Petrochemical Synthesis Institute has developed domestic technology to produce new generation metallocene catalysts and work is now underway to apply this development in "already known production processes using new efficient technological solutions."
Specifically, there are plans to use the technology in a new metallocene polyethylene production facility that SIBUR plans to build and launch in 2028 at Nizhnekamskneftekhim in Tatarstan, Kalmykov said.
He said Russia now has only two plants that can produce metallocene polyethylene— Kazanorgsintez , a SIBUR division in Kazan, and Stavrolen, a Lukoil division in Budennovsk—and they both use technology licensed from Unipol PE.
It was reported earlier that SIBUR plans to build a premium metallocene polyethylene facility at Nizhnekamskneftekhim with capacity to produce 300,000 metric tpy. The facility, scheduled to open in 2028, will make it possible to fully meet domestic demand for metallocene polyethylene, which is projected to total 170,000 metric tpy by then.
The feedstock for the new facility will be supplied from the EP-600 ethylene (olefin) complex being built at Nizhnekamskneftekhim, which will enter the pre-commissioning stage this year.
Metallocene polyethylene is used in production of film, pigments, threads, corrugated pipes and polyethylene foam. It has high tensile strength, fault tolerance and a good finish.
Nizhnekamskneftekhim, one of the largest producers of synthetic rubber in the world and one of Russia's leading producers of plastics, has been part of SIBUR since October 2021.
Comments