SIBUR, the largest petrochemical holding company in Russia and Eastern Europe, opened the PolyLab research center based on Skolkovo, specializing in the development and testing of polymer products, the company’s press service reported.

Thus, according to the report, the task of the PolyLab center is to expand the possibility of efficiently using polymers both in the production of products already existing on the market and in creating unique innovative product solutions necessary for the technological development of such industries as medicine, light industry, automotive industry, and construction. One of the goals of the Center will be the development of the use of secondary materials and the realization of the potential of polymers in a closed-cycle economy.

For this purpose, on the pilot lines of the center, samples of developed grades of polypropylene and polyethylene will be processed into pipes, medical products, films, food packaging and other products, which will allow a deeper study of the properties of the polymer material and its effect on the quality of the final product to further improve materials and increase production efficiency .

In addition, “PolyLab” due to the latest scientific developments is designed to strengthen the competitiveness of both domestic polymers and products based on them. The urgency of this task is increasing due to the fact that at present SIBUR is commissioning the largest petrochemical complex in Russia ZapSibNeftekhim (part of the structure of SIBUR). The products of this plant will play an important role in replacing foreign polymers and increasing the share of non-primary, non-energy exports, the report said.

The total investment in the creation of a research center amounted to 2.2 billion rubles.

The head of SIBUR, Dmitry Konov, noted that the recoupment of the new center has been incorporated into the economy of Zapsibneftekhim, the company plans to sell premium brand products from this complex.

Earlier it was noted that in April of the current year SIBUR completed the ZapSibNeftekhim project and started its launch. The project involves the construction of a pyrolysis unit with a capacity of 1.5 million tons of ethylene, about 500 thousand tons of propylene and 100 thousand tons of butane-butylene fraction per year; plants for the production of various grades of polyethylene and polypropylene with an aggregate capacity of 2 million tons per year. Investments in ZapSibNeftekhim were announced in the amount of up to USD9.5 billion. Completion of construction and installation work on the project was scheduled for the beginning of May, and then it was planned to proceed to commissioning.