Sibur (Moscow / Russia; www.sibur.com) subsidiary ZapSibNeftekhim has announced that its PP project at Tobolsk / Russia is 99.8% complete and commissioning is underway, along with system testing and safety checks – see Plasteurope.com of 10.04.2018.

The plant has already produced a pilot batch of PP granules. Andrei Germashev, head of production at ZapSibNeftekhim, said, “We have only produced several tonnes of polypropylene as part of a test run. However, it confirms that the facility with the total capacity of 500,000 t/y is ready for operation.”

Once operational, the plant will increase Sibur’s total PP production to 1m t/y – the largest capacity in Russia and one of the biggest in the world, according to Sibur. ZapSibNeftekhim’s output will be used to manufacture a wide range of goods from medical products and personal hygiene items to geotextiles, hot water supply pipes, containers and packaging.

Sibur said the plant will play an important role in substituting 85-95% (depending on product) of Russia’s current polymer imports, which are mainly sourced from Europe and China.

According to Plasteurope.com's Polyglobe database (www.polyglobe.net), capacities at the ZapSibNeftekhim site are expected to be 1.5m t/y of ethylene, 500,000 t/y of propylene and downstream 1.5m t/y of PE and 500,000 t/y of PP – see Plasteurope.com of 28.04.2016.