Petr Malina, deputy director, Science, of ZAO Bioenergetik
Plan of establishing a manufacture of newly designed polymer valves. Investment project

?The most significant number of ruptures and leakages occur near check valves during transportation of liquid products. For example, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico would be impossible if the hydraulic pressure on the check valve of the system had been several times lower.

Setting a valve at an angle of 45° to the pipe instead of 90° and other engineering solutions could reduce the pressure, make hydraulic impact impossible and allow opening and closing valves without a hydraulic rotation booster. Such a solution allows the substitution metal with polymers in those valve designs that excluded such replacement thus far.

Our new check valves possess such advantages as resistance to corrosive environment and low cost in comparison with metal analogs. They are protected by over 10 invention patents. The technical characteristics of the valve and its competitiveness against foreign analogs have been confirmed by tests conducted by NPP Mashtest (Korolev, Moscow region), Tyazhprom-Armature (Aleksin, Tula region), Hydromash Plant (Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo region) and Neftepromremont (Strezhevoi, Tomsk region).

The Russian Congress of Plastic Converters scheduled for this November will present the feasibility study of this project to potential investors describing the amount of investments needed, market size, equipment capacity, project payback period. If implemented, the project will prolong the service life of check valves used at numerous residential and industrial objects, including chemical facilities. The goal of the project is to gradually replace the old valves of currently operating pipeline systems and install the new valves on newly built plastic pipelines.

Russian fibre and yarn output rose in January-July

In January-July 2010, Russia’s chemical production rose by 18.4% compared with the same period in 2009, reports the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. The output of rubber and plastic products grew by 22.4%. The output of coatings was up by 23.2% year-on-year. The production of chemical fibres and yarns amounted to 68,000 tonnes in January-July, a 22.2% increase from a year earlier. The growth can be attributed to a gradual increase in consumption and the relatively low 2009 benchmark. The output of textile yarns increased by 46.4%, technical yarns by 2.5 times, cord yarns by 18.7%, and staple fibre by 5.2%.

The output of virgin ethylene-based polymers amounted to 918,700 tonnes in January-July (up by 13.4% y-o-y) owing to expanded output by Stavrolen (+43.8%); Angarsk Polymer Plant (+40.5%); Kazanorgsintez (+10.5%). The output of virgin propylene-based polymers and other polyolefins in January-July declined by 17.5% compared with January-July of 2009 due to a scheduled overhaul at NPP Neftekhimiya.

The output of PVC amounted to 369,900 tonnes in January-July (+13.5%). Expanded output was posted by Nizhnekamskneftekhim (+16.1%); OAO Plastic (+97.6%), Angarsk Polymer Plant (+0.8%). The output of chemical and mineral fertilisers in January-July is estimated at about 10.4 million tonnes, up by 28.1% year-on-year.

(c) RccNews.ru