Dzerzhinsk
Dzerzhinsk serves as the largest center of Russia's chemical industry. Located in the Nizhny Novgorod area, the town of Dzerzhinsk was one of Russia's main chemical weapons producers. The Kaprolactam [Caprolaktam] Organic Glass Factory began producing prussic acid, phosgene, yperite, and lewisite in 1941 at the Kaprolaktam [Caprolactam] Organic Glass Factory. The production of chemical wepons at Dzerzhinsk was halted in 1945, at which point some of the toxic material was transferred to special storage depots. Waste containing large amounts of lewisite were disposed of through burial on the site of the Kaprolactam works. By 1994, the facility responsible for producing yperite was the first to be fully dismantled. As of early 1998, the lewisite facility had been only partially dismantled.
It has been suggested that chemical warfare was then viewed by the Soviets as a cheap answer to American possession of nuclear weapons. By the late 1950s good intelligence was available on the existence of Soviet weapon systems for CW agents and of plans for their use, as well as details establishing a commitment to training troops in use of and protection from chemical weapons. Production plants were constructed at Shikhany and Dzerzhinsk during the 1960s.
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), signed by more than 150 countries, bans the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, use and direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons, and provides for an extensive verification regime. The Convention entered into force on April 29, 1997. The CWC, which is administered by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), is the first major arms control treaty to have a significant impact on the private sector. The Treaty requires certain commercial chemical production, consumption, and processing facilities to submit data declarations and to permit international inspections.
During the Soviet period, chemical warfare agents were produced on the territory of the country in Berezniki, Volgograd, Dzerzhinsk, Novocheboksarsk, Chapayevsk, Vurnary, etc. A total of 40,000 tons of chemical weapons were produced at 14 factories and stockpiled in warehouses. By virtue of its international obligations, Russia has launched a program for the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles. The places of their long-term storage were chosen as centers: Shuchye ( Kurgan region), Kambarka (Udmurtia), Gorny (Saratov region), Maradykovsky (Kirov region), Pochep (Bryansk region), Leonidovka (Penza region), Kizner (Udmurtia). Note that during the Soviet period in Penza and Kurgan bacteriological weapons were produced based on anthrax strains.
The chemical industry has a significant impact on nature. It itself is one of the most "dirty", affecting all components of the natural environment, which requires regular environmental protection measures. The chemical industry is characterized by extremely complex and branched production chains that develop on the basis of deep specialization, cooperation and combination, including with other industries. The chemistry of polymer materials is characterized by the presence of two types of production centers: large petrochemical plants (produce a wide range of products); highly specialized production.
In 2010 a study of the hygienic assessment of the contamination of the territory at the former chemical weapons production facility of JSC Kaprolaktam-Dzerzhinsk was carried out. The object of the study was the soil and ground of the enterprise's territory. Samples were collected, their chemical analysis and a hygienic assessment of the results were carried out. The results obtained were further used to select a rational method for the rehabilitation of soil and ground, taking into account the actual characteristics of their contamination.
After the war, large quantities chemical warfare agents (CWAs) were buried in trenches as a disposal strategy. Although some of the buried CWAs have been decontaminated, the remediation of remaining CWAs and the contaminated material may take years and a huge expenditure. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the toxic CWAs were buried in the ground. Today, Dzerzhinsk remains one of the most polluted cities due to scattered contaminated waste and seeping waste from landfills.
Caprolactam is a crystalline cyclic amide with a melting point of 70 °C. It is soluble in water, most oxygenated and chlorinated solvents, and some hydrocarbons. Caprolactam turned out to be extremely valuable. In 1938, Paul Schlack at IG Farben found that heating caprolactam neat to 260 °C causes the ring to open and the terminal functional groups to react to form a long-chain polyamide. This polymer later became known as “nylon 6”. It can be formed into high-strength fibers, resins, and films that have dozens of end-use applications ranging from clothing to violin strings to automotive mechanical parts. Today most of the caprolactam is used for the production of fibers and filaments made of Polyamide 6, used in the textile and other industries.
With a mild, disagreeable odor, contact may cause slight irritation to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. May be mildly toxic by ingestion. The primary hazard is the threat to the environment. Immediate steps should be taken to limit its spread to the environment. As a liquid it can easily penetrate the soil and contaminate groundwater and nearby streams. There is evidence suggesting a lack of carcinogenicity of caprolactam in experimental animals. Caprolactam is probably not carcinogenic to humans.
The Kaprolactam Joint-stock company reconverted itself into the production of chemical equipment and associated spare parts, hydrochloric acid, ethylene oxide, polymer pellicle, washing means, and other plastic products. The company is affiliated with the NORSI (Nizhny Novgorod Orgsintes) Orgsteclo industrial chain. Wella AG, a personal care products company from German, invested more than $15 million, as part of a joint-venture with Kaprolactam, into a manufacturing facility.
The Russian division of Thussepkgirr Industrial Solutions specializes in providing engineering services. Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions LLC (RUS) was originally founded on the basis of the engineering department of the Caprolactam plant in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region, later known as the Institute of Gipropolymers. With the help of the Russian division of Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, unique facilities for the production of ammonia, chlorine, caustic soda and polymers were built in Russia. On 26 February 2024 German Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG sold a 99% stake in its Russian subsidiary, JSC Krastsvetmet, 1% was transferred to JSC ARDM (Axion-Rare and Precious Metals).
The Oka-Polymer industrial park was established through a phased conversion of the former Caprolactam plant’s production site. The conversion project to transform the production site into a service site was supported by the government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. SIBUR-Neftekhim and the Region’s Governor Valery Shantsev signed an agreement to establish the industrial park in autumn 2011. The parties also agreed to set up the cluster’s management company in 2012, incorporated as a joint-stock company.
SIBUR has gone from being torn apart by corporate scandals, teetering on the verge of collapse of a holding company, to a successful, profitable, efficient, rapidly growing company with a clear, ambitious and realistic development strategy that competently implements several large investment projects. It is also important that SIBUR's status as an industry leader makes it possible to successfully engage in lawmaking and transform the legal field.
The enterprise began in December 1999, when the production chain for the production of ethylene in Kstovo and its derivatives in Dzerzhinsk became part of the production and technological complex of SIBUR. Thanks to this, the Nizhny Novgorod petrochemical industry received a stable supply of hydrocarbon raw materials, from the lack of which it suffered for many years, and guaranteed sales of products.
SIBUR-Neftekhim in Dzerzhinsk specializes in the production of ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, acrylic acid and esters. From 2000 to 2011, SIBUR-Neftekhim included the site of the Caprolactam plant, which produced PVC and organochlorine products. After the decision was made to build the Kstovo RusVinyl, the old low-power PVC production in Dzerzhinsk was closed. By this time, it has developed a resource for safe operation. In 2010, the Kstovo and Dzerzhinsk production facilities of SIBUR were separated: SIBUR-Neftekhim remained in Dzerzhinsk, LLC SIBUR-Kstovo was formed in Kstovo. SIBUR-Neftekhim included the production of acrylic acid and esters.
Finally, the last milestone in the development of SIBUR-Neftekhim was the reconstruction of the production of ethylene oxide and glycols, which was completed in the fall of 2014. This timely measure made it possible to increase the capacity for the production of equivalent ethylene oxide to 300,000 tons per year.” Ethylene oxide and ethylene glycols are widely used as raw materials for the production of hydraulic, cooling and low-freezing technical fluids, absorbers, solvents, plasticizers, monomers for synthetic fibers, polyester resins, foams, as well as ethanolamines, which are used to produce cosmetics and detergents. Acrylic acid and esters are used in the production of acrylic dispersions, latexes, copolymers, adhesive compositions, and superabsorbents. Consumers here are the chemical, paint and varnish, pulp and paper, textile, furniture industries, and the construction complex.
Following SIBUR’s divestment of production facilities on the former Caprolactam plant’s site, the facilities were made available to new SMEs dealing in petrochemicals, processing of petrochemicals, innovations and education. Currently, the Oka-Polymer industrial park’s management company offers its tenants land plots, production and warehousing facilities to lease or purchase, utility services for industrial customers, along with transportation, design and engineering, and other related services.
On 31 January 2014. SIBUR closed the sale of the 100% stake in Oka-Polymer Industrial Park located in Dzerzhinsk, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, to Tosol-Sintez, a resident of the park. The Oka-Polymer industrial park was launched in June 2012 as a service company to develop the production site of the former Caprolactam plant in Dzerzhinsk’s Eastern Industrial Zone. The park covers an area of 300 ha, offering its tenants over 500,000 sq m of existing facilities to lease or purchase. The park’s benefits include advantageous geographical location, availability of resources and quick production launch capability. Currently, the park provides production facilities to 26 tenants. Over 1,200 new jobs have been created on the production site, with committed investments in new production launches in excess of RUB 3.6bn.
The sale of the industrial park is part of SIBUR’s strategy of divesting non-core assets. Tosol-Sintez plans to secure big investments for the Oka-Polymer industrial park’s development, create new jobs, and boost tax proceeds for the budgets of the city of Dzerzhinsk and Nizhny Novgorod Region were made part of the deal. Tosol-Sintez fully supports and will carry on with the current business plan for the industrial park’s development. With Tosol-Sintez fully involved, the number of the park’s tenants is expected to increase to 50 by the end of 2014. Tosol-Sintez intends to make a particular focus on science-based and high technology production to leverage its competencies in processing polymers and organic synthesis products along with expertise in marketing and distribution management. Tosol-Sintez is going to further convert the production site to meet up-to-date standards, and improve service offering for the tenants.
The Microbiological industry in Russia occupies a separate place in the chemical complex and is relatively new. Main products: fodder proteins (yeast), furfural, amino acids, antibiotics, etc. For their production, oil refined products and woodworking waste are used. Accordingly, the enterprises of the industry are located either near refineries - Dzerzhinsk, Kirishi, or at large centers of mechanical processing of wood - Krasnoyarsk, Arkhangelsk, Kirov, Taishet, Tulun, Kansk, Lesozavodsk (Primorsky Territory), etc.
@arnoldporrter.com
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