Russian scientists and industrialists will replace imported analogues of high-tech oil products

The Government of the Russian Federation approved the creation of a comprehensive scientific and technical project of the innovation cycle «Petrochemical Cluster». The products developed under the project will be in demand in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, the automotive industry and the production of building materials.

What results are planned to be achieved?

A comprehensive scientific and technical project is one of the main mechanisms for achieving the strategic results of the country’s scientific and technological development. It unites the interests of the state, science and business and includes a full cycle of innovative production, from scientific developments to market entry of finished products. KSTP «Petrochemical Cluster» will produce modern petroleum products that do not harm the health of the population and the environment, the production and use of which will have a positive impact on the ecology and economy not only of the regions of their direct production, but also of Russia as a whole. In addition, through the creation of KSTP, it will be possible to lay the scientific and technological prerequisites for a deep modernization of production at petrochemical enterprises in Russia.

«Today, in the conditions of restrictions and external sanctions pressure, it is necessary to focus on breakthrough research. Responding to the demands of the economy, it is fundamentally important to evenly distribute efforts between the fundamental and applied parts of science. These requirements are already included in the KSTP «Petrochemical Cluster». The result of his work will be the creation of new globally competitive technologies that will ensure the leadership of our country in a whole range of sectors of the economy, from pharmaceuticals to the automotive industry,” — said Valery Falkov, head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

Most of the funding — 4.1 billion rubles. — make up extrabudgetary funds. The volume of budgetary funds for the implementation of research and development work will amount to 980 million rubles. The annual turnover of production of products developed within the framework of the KSTP will amount to 16.9 billion rubles. and will provide more than 16 billion rubles by 2030. budget revenues, which will many times exceed the budget costs for the project. As part of the activities of the KSTP, it is planned to register at least 26 patents, transfer at least 8 new technologies to production, increase the volume of production by 220 thousand tons, reduce the volume of wastewater by 406 thousand cubic meters. m, and emissions — by 23 tons per year.

Who will be responsible for scientific research?

The participants of the project will be the Institute of Catalysis named after G.K. Boreskov of the Siberian Branch (SB) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis named after A.V. Topchiev RAS, Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Kabardino-Balkarian State University (KBSU) named after H.M. Berbekov, MIREA — Russian Technological University (RTU MIREA). All these organizations have sufficient scientific and technological potential and qualifications to carry out the activities of the integrated project.

RTU MIREA Rector Stanislav Kudzh said that a number of teachers, graduate students and students of specialized departments of the Institute of Fine Chemical Technologies named after M.V. Lomonosov RTU MIREA.

«This project, aimed at the scientific and technological development of Russia, gives a new impetus to the further innovative development of the university, the generation of new knowledge and the formation of personnel for the new economy of the country,” — Stanislav Kudzh commented on the participation of the university in the project.

Scientists of KBSU together with the group of companies «Titan» within the framework of KSTP will develop new domestic technologies for the production of environmentally friendly polymers and composites for the automotive, medical and food industries.

«Participation in such a large-scale project is new opportunities for building up the research and innovation potential of the university and a powerful impetus for the further progressive development of the university», — said acting rector of KBSU Yuri Altudov.

What kind of research will be conducted within the KSTP?

The project is aimed both at meeting domestic needs, including through import substitution of strategically important products (isopropylbenzene, phenol, isopropyl alcohol, polyethylene terephthalate), and at increasing the country’s export potential. In addition to the production of isopropyl alcohol from acetone, it is planned to develop a technology for the production of general-purpose chemical products based on low-waste technology for the production of isopropylbenzene and phenol and an innovative environmentally friendly technology for the production of packaging — polyethylene terephthalate granules (PET granules) and polyethylene terephthalate films (BOPET films) for use in food and medical and electrical industry. To solve these problems, it will be necessary to develop new catalysts — substances that accelerate chemical processes and participate in the reaction, but are not part of the final product.

«The project provides for the implementation of three main works. The first job is to create high-tech production of isopropylbenzene and phenol, and it includes two tasks. The first task is the development of catalysts and technologies for their use for the production of isopropylbenzene. These tasks are solved by the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences,” — said Alexander Noskov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Isoprobilbenzene is an intermediate in the production of phenol. Resins are obtained from phenol, which are then used to produce varnishes, adhesives and sealants. Phenol is needed for the manufacture of synthetic threads, such as nylon, it is used as a concentrate in some vaccines, as well as for the manufacture of plastics, rubbers, drugs, detergents, pesticides, and fuels. The second task in the same production is the decomposition of isopropylbenzene hydroperoxide to obtain phenol and acetone. It is solved by the Institute of Catalysis of the SB RAS. Within the framework of the project, studies will be carried out to optimize the properties of efficient and environmentally friendly catalysts for these processes, and mathematical models of the processes for isopropylbenzene and phenol production will be developed to determine the best technological regimes. Nowadays, sulfuric acid is used to decompose isopropylbenzene hydroperoxide into phenol and acetone, which leads to a large number of environmental pollutants. An alternative option is the use of new catalysts based on heteropoly acids (complex compounds formed as a result of the addition of the oxide of an element to the oxyacid of another element).

«Replacing sulfuric acid with heteropolyacids will lead to a sharp decrease in the volume of wastewater and a decrease in by-products (various resinous compounds, etc.). Our task is also to develop a technology for the regeneration of heteropoly acids, since this is a rather expensive product. The industrial use of such new catalysts will be an effective step towards improving this technology,” — said Alexander Noskov.

The second work within the framework of KSTP is the creation of catalysts and technology for the hydrogenation of acetone in order to obtain isopropyl alcohol. Acetone is a relatively inexpensive product, while isopropyl alcohol is the main component of disinfectants, an environmentally friendly solvent, and also a raw material for a number of other socially significant and high-tech industries in Russia, including the medical and food industries, construction, transport and electrical production.

Isopropyl alcohol is the basis for antifreeze cleaning fluids. In addition, it is necessary as a reagent in the production of biologically active substances and pharmaceuticals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the price of isopropyl alcohol, one of the most effective disinfectants, increased several times on the world market, and under the embargo, it becomes unaffordable for Russia even at an increased price.

«The most important and most difficult thing is not even to make a catalyst, but to ensure its preparation in a form convenient for practical use. After the synthesis of the nickel catalyst, it is necessary to carry out the so-called passivation, because in the reduced state it can ignite in air. To overcome this danger, nickel particles are gently oxidized with the formation of an oxide film on them. This makes it possible then to effectively transfer the catalyst to the active state directly in production. The development of such technological methods is a very difficult task and will be solved in Russia for the first time», — Alexander Noskov emphasized.

Recall that the customer of the complex project «Creation of environmentally friendly industrial production of basic high-tech chemical products for the automotive, construction, medical and food industries from hydrocarbon raw materials on the basis of innovative domestic scientific developments» («Petrochemical Cluster») is JSC «Group of Companies Titan» (Georgia). Omsk), the responsible executor and coordinator of the complex project is the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the co-executor of the complex project is the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.