Sibur completes halobutyl rubber expansion work at Nizhnekamsk

Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan – Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH), part of Sibur Holding, has recently completed construction work on a major halobutyl rubber expansion project.

The work at Nizhnekamsk, which was completed mid-2023, has raised capacity from 150 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) to 200ktpa, said a 8 Sept Sibur release.

The project – for which commissioning work is now “coming to an end” – included the reconstruction of the existing facility at the complex in Tatarstan, the group added.

The construction work received an EcoZOS environmental passport, confirming the implementation of “all measures to prevent and/or reduce negative impact on the environment.”

According to Sibur, halobutyl rubber is “a strategically important product,” noting that there are no similar production facilities elsewhere in Russia.

The expansion, it said, makes it possible to meet domestic demand for halobutyl rubber, with surplus exported to Turkey, China, India, CIS countries, southeast Asia and Latin America.

Sibur's supply of synthetic rubber to many other countries has been impacted by the imposition of sanctions in response to Russia's war on Ukraine.

NKNH started the production of chlorobutyl rubber and bromobutyl rubber at Nizhnekamsk in 2006, using the technology developed by Yarsintez Research Institute.

Among other applications, halobutyl rubber is widely used in the production of vehicle tires, particularly as an inner sealing layer due to its impermeabilty to air.