Sibur to produce NBR latex at Siberian site

Moscow – Sibur is to begin the commercial production of synthetic nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) latex at its production site in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia by the end of the year, the company has announced.

The unit will produce 3.5 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of NBR latex, with the aim to develop a feedstock base for the local production of technical and diagnostic examination gloves in Russia, Sibur said in a 16 April statement. 

The facility will manufacture carboxylated nitrile butadiene rubber latex, which according to Sibur is “hypoallergenic and highly resistant to aggressive environments.”

The material, Sibur said, was developed after "several years" of collaboration between the company's elastomers R&D centre in Voronezh, scientific centre NIOST and the Krasnoyarsk production site’s R&D and test centres.

The new capacity will enable Russian manufacturers to produce 230 million pieces of rubber gloves per year, according to Sibur.

“Our production site remains fully focused on the investment project designed to support domestic manufacturers,” said Petr Kazakov, CEO of Krasnoyarsk synthetic rubber plant.

The new material, Kazakov added, “significantly extends” Sibur’s product range and promotes deep hydrocarbon feedstock processing.

Sibur's Krasnoyarsk production site, which is a joint venture business with China's Sinopec, currently manufactures 42.5ktpa of high-butadiene nitrile rubbers.