Sibur starts production at upgraded halobutyl rubber facility

Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan – Sibur has announced the launch of production at its newly upgraded halobutyl rubber (HBR) manufacturing facility at Nizhnekamsk. 

As ERJ reported in September, the RUB8-billion (€79 million) upgrade is designed to  increase the sites HBR capacity by 50 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) to 200ktpa. (ERJ report) 

The project involved the installation of six new HBR production units and the revamp of 16 others, according to Sibur’s 18 Dec announcement. 

The upgrade, it said, will meet domestic HBR demand and increase Russia's exports of high-margin materials to “friendly countries” such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, and India.

The Russian unit is the world's largest HBR production site, said the group, which now claims to account for 25% of global butyl rubber and HBR output. 

The plant licensor, it stated, is Yarsintez Research Institute, and ‘general designer’ is Kazan National Research Technological University, a Sibur ‘anchor university’.

“This rubber facility is indeed the most advanced of those that exist today. Its upgrade started back in 2020, before SIBUR acquired assets in Tatarstan,” said Mikhail Karisalov, chairman and CEO of Sibur.

The new production facilities, added Karisalov, are “up to the mark in terms of competitiveness, output, eco-friendliness, and safety for the next 15–20 years.” 

Despite the 30% increase in output, there will be no increase in the facility's environmental impact, according to the Sibur statement. 

The group also “made the project technologically independent by installing a modern automatic process control system made in Russia.”