24/08/2018

Press release: SIBUR starts installation of large-size equipment at Blagoveshchensk site

Blagoveshchensk, 24 August 2018. SIBUR has commenced the large-size equipment installation as part of the terephthalic acid production upgrade at the POLIEF Blagoveshchensk site. The project aims to expand its annual production capacity to 350,000 tonnes, while also improving production efficiency and environmental safety.

The project's progress is 36%. Construction and installation now underway do not require shutting down production and involve the new gas catalytic oxidiser, the power supply facilities (transformer substation and power distribution unit), the additional 3,200 cu m storage tank for paraxylene used for TPA production, as well as extensions to the existing buildings that will house new modern equipment to complement the existing production capacities.

The new catalytic oxidiser will replace the previously used furnace for waste gas thermal treatment, providing a more advanced and efficient technology for flue gas treatment. Two scrubbers, which are H 20 m x D 1.8 m gas treatment units and part of the core large-size equipment, have already been delivered and assembled on-site. The construction of the oxidiser and the upgrade of all gas emissions treatment systems are expected to help cut the facility's atmospheric emissions by half.

The main contractor for the works not requiring production shutdown is Neftegazstroy (Bashkortostan). Currently, construction and installation involves 200 people, while at the peak of upgrade the site will employ some 1,000 contractor employees.

Also, currently the metal structures of over four kilometres of surface racks used for the site’s feedstock and fuel transportation are treated for corrosion and fire proofing. Treatment of an over 60,000 sq m of surface will ensure safety of the industrial facility.

The bulk of the equipment is to be delievered to SIBUR’s Blagoveshchensk site by the end of 2018. A significant part of the equipment is supplied by domestic producers, including Volgogradneftemash, Tatneft Trade and Technology House, and Dimitrovgradkhimmash. Overall, the TPA production upgrade will involve the existing 11 buildings and 150 units of equipment and improve the facility’s operating efficiency, as well as its industrial and environmental safety.

SIBUR launched the TPA upgrade project in Blagoveshchensk in December 2017. The Russian terephthalic acid market is undersupplied and the production upgrade will help to substitute a major part of imports. The project is scheduled for completion in 2019.

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