Technological watch

SIBUR, Russia’s largest integrated petrochemicals company presents its plastics at K 2019, the world's largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry, hosted in Dusseldorf, Germany. This year, the Company showcases not only the LDPE and PP homo grades, but also its new product lines, including HDPE, LLDPE and PP copolymers as SIBUR’s major new ZapSibNeftekhim (ZapSib) Complex moves from test production to coming fully on stream. Alongside Russia and the CIS, the new volumes will be exported to Europe, Turkey and China.

Europe is an important market for SIBUR accounting for about 26% of the total PP and PE exports. Of no less importance, China accounts for about 30% of the total PP and PE exports. Once ZapSib is on stream, SIBUR will offer its European and Chinese customers a wide range of PP and PE solutions:

HDPE and LLDPE grades for extrusion of films

· LLDPE grades with MFI 0.9 and 2, that can be used in production of general purpose blown or cast films, such as agricultural films, stretch films, liner bags, sacks.

· LLDPE grade LL30200 FE with MFI 3.0 for cast extrusion of stretch films and coextrusion to produce high quality stretch packaging.

· HDPE grade HD10500 FE with MFI 10 respectively (under load of 21.6 kg) for extrusion of thin films used in producing T-Shirt bags, shopping bags, grocery bags

· HDPE grade HD80520 FE with MFI 8.5 (under load of 21.6 kg) that can be used in production of films for lamination, shrink films, and backs, as well as very thin films at high speed lines.

HDPE with bimodal technology (real homo-copolymer structure) for production of pipes

· HDPE grades HD03594 PE and HD03594 RC with MFI 0.3 for the production of carbon black pipes PE100+ for gas and potable water supply, carbon black PE100+ for big diameter pipes, and carbon black pipes PE100RC with high crack resistance.

HDPE grades for small blow moulding

· Bimodal HDPE grade HD03580 SB with MFI 0.3 and density 0.958 is designed for production of up to 30 L containers for storage and transportation of household chemicals and cosmetics.

HDPE grades for medium and large blow moulding

· HDPE grade HD10530 LB with MFI 10 and density 0.952 that has high ESCR and impact strength. Recommended for medium and large blow moulding items of 1-60 L for storage and transportation of aggressive products.

· HDPE grade HD19550 LB with MFI 1.9 and density 0.955 designed for production of large packaging items or storage and transportation of aggressive products.

PP and PE grade for injection moulding

· 14 various grades of PP and PE such as that allow to produce light weight items with low deformation during lower cycle time. HDPE grades for injection moulding allow to produce goods with high mechanical strength, high resistance to vertical load and aggressive mediums.

One of the Company’s key expansion areas in the mid-term is new dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) production at SIBUR-Khimprom (Perm). SIBUR launched a new DOTP facility this year with a total capacity of 100,000 tonnes. It became the largest production site of its kind in Europe, and its size means that the Company will not only be able to substitute imports but will also be able to supply DOTP to international markets.

In addition to operating production facilities SIBUR offers a wide range of client services, including development of new product solutions, assistance in homologation and technical support. To drive the development of the production business the Company runs Polylab - own competence centre for polyolefin processing technologies. Polylab is focused on the development and optimization of product solutions, and acts as a platform for the development of plastic consumption. SIBUR’s technical support services include the processing of customer requests, selection and testing of products, consulting and selection of processing modes.

Sustainable development is an important element of SIBUR's growth story, and the Company has been making significant efforts to strengthen its position in this area. SIBUR has made the following contributions to address the issue of CO2 emissions and plastics recycling:

• SIBUR helps to reduce CO2 emissions stemming from the flaring of oil extraction by-products, such as associated petroleum gas (APG), by recycling them instead. In 2018, SIBUR processed 22.3 billion cubic metres of APG, thus cutting greenhouse emissions by 72 million tonnes, which is equivalent to the annual CO2 footprint of a middle-sized European country.
• Waste management and recycling in particular are important areas of the Company’s development.
• SIBUR’s plastic production has been successfully integrated into the model of a circular economy, as 100% of its plastics can be recycled to produce new items.
• Sibur sees its contribution to the global transition towards a circular economy in the development of recycling opportunities (infrastructure, technologies, education and advocacy) and the creation of new products like r-PET resin in Russia.
• The safety of each type of plastic is confirmed by the appropriate certificates and studies.
• All products are REACH certified.