Russia's Nizhnekamskneftekhim kicks off 230,000 tpa PE plant

Putting up a brave face to the deepening economic crisis, Russian petrochemical maker Nizhnekamskneftekhim Inc. has commissioned a new 230,000 tpa plant for production of plastics in Nizhnekamsk, a city in Republic of Tatarstan. The first batch of commercial polyethylene was produced at the new polyolefins plant on February 3, 2009. The new production successfully accomplished the company's program of transition from production of monomers to polymers while making its total capacity of plastics production to 600,000 tpa. The polyethylene production at the plant uses LyondellBasell's Spherilene gas-phase technology and the implementation was carried out by Tecnimont (Italy). The project makes provision for production of LLDPE, MDPE, HDPE with low molecular weight distribution and HDPE with wide molecular weight distribution. The range of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) shall include the grades suitable for production of compositions, films, items of blow-out, injection and rotational molding. The range of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) shall include the grades intended for blow-out, rotational and injection molding, for production of pipes, films, compositions, threads and fibers. Nizhnekamsk plant is intended for manufacture of granular polyethylene of black and natural colors, and certain other grades which will be produced for the very first time in the Russian Federation, as per the company release. This plant, the company says, is unique not only in terms of the product mix but also from the point of view of profitability: the share of power generation sector in the cost price of Nizhnekamsk polyethylene constitutes only 3.5%. Therefore, proceeding from the ratio of the cost price and quality Nizhnekamsk polyethylene could successfully compete with foreign equivalent products in the Russian market. The project makes provision for production of the following types of plastics including LLDPE, MDPE, HDPE with low molecular weight distribution and HDPE with wide molecular weight distribution. The range of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) shall include the grades suitable for production of compositions, films, items of blow-out, injection and rotational molding. The range of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) shall include the grades intended for blow-out, rotational and injection molding, for production of pipes, films, compositions, threads and fibers.