Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur (Moscow; www.sibur.com) is expanding PTA capacity at the site of its PET subsidiary Polief (Blagoveschensk / Russia; www.polief.ru) in Blagoveschensk. The project, which is aimed at improving the site’s production efficiency and environmental safety, will boost output to 350,000 t/y. Current capacity was not disclosed.

Sibur said the expansion will help substitute a major portion of the imports that are needed to meet Russian demand as the country currently does not have enough domestic production. The plant’s general designer is GSE-Giprokauchuk and Russian contractors will be selected for construction and commissioning works. The additional capacity is due to go into operation in 2019.

Eleven existing production facilities will be upgraded and the site’s atmospheric emissions are expected to reduce two-fold from the installation of a gas catalytic oxidiser and the revamp of all gas emissions treatment systems. In addition, the discharge of industrial wastewater from PTA production will be 1.5 times lower than current levels, thanks to the addition of new rotary pressure filters. Cooling systems will be added to return the vapour released during the synthesis process to the process flow, improving the site’s energy efficiency multi-fold, Sibur said.

“The investment project at the Blagoveshchensk site seeks to meet the increasing demand from the food industry. It is also an important step of our production upgrade strategy intended to maximise energy efficiency and environmental safety of our facilities,” said Dmitry Konov, chairman of Sibur’s management board.