Complex certification and guaranteed safe product: Nizhnekamskneftekhim preparing for antiseptic production

An experimental batch of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's disinfectants is being tested at the Research Institute of Disinfection

The city-forming enterprise Nizhnekamskneftekhim has released a trial batch of the important in the conditions of the pandemic antimicrobial disinfectant. The products that meet the recommendations of the world health organization were developed by the staff of the scientific and technological centre in the shortest possible time.

Killing disease-causing microbes

Hand sanitizer, or sanitizer, is a type of disinfectant. It is used most often by doctors to prevent the transmission of pathogens, as well as to comply with basic rules of hand hygiene in places where the washbasin and soap are not available. A few drops of this product is enough to kill pathogenic microbes on the skin of the hands.

The scientific and technological centre of Nizhnekamskneftekhim together with the production department of the company developed a recipe for antiseptic manufacturing. According to the head of the production department of the enterprise, Pyotr Tokarev, the employees first studied a large volume of scientific and medical documentation.

“Life makes its own adjustments to everything, including the production programme. It is not the first time Nizhnekamskneftekhim has faced situations when it needs to rebuild itself on the move. The company's management set the task to develop a technology for developing its own disinfectant, which is so popular and necessary today, as soon as possible. The formulations of antiseptics recommended by the World Health Organization have been selected," said Pyotr Tokarev.

As a result, the antibacterial action of the antiseptic of Nizhnekamskneftekhim meets all the requirements of the WHO. “The specialists of our centre have developed three recipes. To date, we are working with documentation. In the near future, I think our product will see the light," said Rinat Gilmullin, the director of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's Reasearch and Development Centre.

The trial batch has already proved its effectiveness

Nizhnekamskneftekhim will start the industrial production of antiseptics after it obtains all the permits. The trial batch of products was produced on the basis of the experimental industrial shop, on the line for the production of hydrocarbons and their compounds. Equipment for the production of their own antiseptic did not have to be purchased, it was just enough to make adjustments to the existing one.

“It was a team work, so we have managed to develop the product in a short time. All the equipment was practically available, only one pump was added. And this accelerated the process. Let's hope that the full production of the industrial batch will start very quickly," said Svetlana Ipkeeva, design engineer at Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

Mass production will be carried out at the propylene glycol plant. “We separated one node in order to organize the mixing of components. Propylene glycol itself is not hazardous. It is used as a food additive in many products," said the head of the research laboratory of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's research and development centre Rafael Sharifullin.

According to the company's specialists, the unit is environmentally safe and fully meets all requirements. The trial batch has already proved its effectiveness. It is important that the antiseptics produced by Nizhnekamskneftekhim are harmless to the skin and disinfect hands without prior contact with water and soap.

Without simplifying the problem

All products must be subject to control. Including antiseptics. In order to confirm that the sanitizer is a disinfectant, it must pass state registration with the Federal Agency of Rospotrebnadzor in Moscow.

Although there is a practice when companies do not complicate their task, they register their products for disinfection as perfumes and cosmetics. It is quick and easy, and the examination is carried out in Tatarstan. But the cosmetic product is not an antiseptic, it does not give 100% guarantee of protection from infectious agents.

“Such products can be offered as a cleaning agent, but not as an antiseptic or disinfectant. Without reliable results of disinfection tests — this is nothing more than misleading the consumer," said Olga Shuvalova, the head of the department of standardization and normative reference information of Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim relies on the safety and effectiveness of its new product. Therefore, despite the fact that certification is a long and complex process, it is necessary to issue quite a large number of documents, but the result is worth it — the company will get a guaranteed safe product for its employees and third-party consumers.

To start producing antiseptics, petrochemists have developed technical specifications and a safety data sheet. For the legitimate release of disinfectants, it is necessary to prove that the antiseptic produced by Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, it is a safe and effective disinfectant. To do this, a sample of the product has been sent for testing to Rospotrebnadzor Research Institute of disinfection in Moscow. This is where medical devices are tested. Having received the positive examination, the company will start industrial production of disinfectants for the disinfection of surfaces of premises and vehicles, as well as for the disinfection of hands.

By Lilia Yegorova. Photo courtesy of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC
Tatarstan