NIZHNEKAMSK, Tatarstan—Sibur Holding will have a little more agility in the halobutyl rubber market thanks to the completion of an expansion project at its Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH) plant.
The move, the company said, was critical considering there are no similar production facilities in Russia, making halobutyl rubber "a strategically important product" for Sibur.
Completed in mid-2023, the expansion added 50,000 metric tons of annual capacity at the facility, bringing the total to 200,000 tons per year. The existing facility at the complex was reconstructed.
With the additional capacity, Sibur will have more than enough product to supply domestic demand. Surplus will be exported to Turkey, China, India, CIS countries, southeast Asia and Latin America. It should be noted that 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.
Sibur noted that the newly reconstructed facility has received an EcoZOS environmental passport, confirming the implementation of "all measures to prevent and/or reduce negative impact on the environment."
Among other applications, halobutyl rubber is widely used in the production of vehicle tires, particularly as an inner sealing layer due to its impermeability to air.
