OREANDA-NEWS. February 12, 2010. A presentation of innovation potential of Tomsk Oblast took place within the framework of a meeting of the RF Presidential Commission for Modernization and Technological Development of Economy. SIBUR presented achievements of NIOST, a corporate scientific centre for chemical technologies.

Work related to generation of laboratorial and engineering base of NIOST was completed in 2009, but a number of research results are under tests already. In particular, one may single out the "Green Tyres" Project for development of a process which will make it possible to reduce energy expenditure on rubber mixing by 50% and fuel consumption in cars by 10% due to low rolling resistance of a new type of tyres. Samples of the material taken at NIOST are now under test approval on the Company's production sites. Industrial tests of the process are scheduled for 2010.

In 2008, experts of NIOST and the Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences were involved in starting of production of titanium-magnesium catalyst (TMC) at Tomskneftekhim for the first time in Russia. TMC is superior by many parameters to conventional catalyst systems used at polypropylene production operations. Use of TMC provides production of 40 kg of polypropylene per gram of catalyst whereas use of traditional catalysts provides production of 4 to 5 kg at most.

Currently NIOST is starting a new research related to expansion of the range of product grades and increase of efficiency of the Company's manufacturing processes.

For Editors

NIOST LLC is a subsidiary company of SIBUR established as the Company's scientific centre for chemical technologies. NIOST is the first resident of the Special Economic Zone of the technology-introduction type established in Tomsk in 2006.

In 2009, Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies, a state-owned corporation, granted to the test laboratorial centre of NIOST LLC a certificate of conformity to the requirements of Nanocertifica, a voluntary certification system for nanoindustry products, imposed on test laboratories.

The scientific section of NIOST consists of 6 laboratories of various purposes where various processes are simulated. The Laboratory for Physical and Chemical Research Methods (LPCRM) carries out methodical and analytical support of R&D using a set of state-of-the-art equipment which is unique in Russia and which facilitates conducting of thermal, spectroscopic, resonant, radiographic, and chromatography-mass spectrometry research. The basic direction of activities of the Laboratory for Polymer Composite Materials (LPCM) is development of compounds with preset properties on the basis of polypropylene and polyethylene, and thermoplastic elastomers. Subject matters of projects of the Laboratory for Catalysts and Catalyst Systems (LCCS) are concentrated mainly on catalysts used in the processes of manufacture of monomers for plastics and rubbers - olefins, and propylene oxide, as well as some other products - alcohols, aldehydes, acids, and aromatic compounds. The technologies developed by the Laboratory for Synthesis of Plastics (LSP) are focused on introduction of the basic methods of plastics production into subsidiary enterprises of the Holding. Research of production of polymeric materials with a high degree of structure control, and composites based thereon are conducted. The basic direction of work of the Laboratory for Petrochemical Synthesis (LPCS) is generation of low-capacity technologies for production of costly products of organic synthesis. Homogeneous and heterogeneous supported catalyst systems for new and existing processes using the raw materials available at SIBUR's plants are also developed. The activities of the Laboratory for Synthetic Rubbers are directed at synthesis, development and improvement of synthetic rubber technologies, as well as development of perspective rubber technologies of for enterprises of the Holding.