Nizhnekamskneftekhim again recognised as leader of environmental protection activities in Russia

Deserved recognition

The seventeenth contest “Leader of Environmental Activities in Russia 2021" finished with a triumph for petrochemists. The company submitted to the public expert commission the results of environmental activities in recent years and became the winner of three nominations:

“For environmental responsibility”, “The best environmentally responsible city-forming enterprise”, “Environmental management and waste management in industry”.

The company has received the awards of the prestigious competition for the modernisation of production facilities, the creation of highly effective projects to eliminate environmental threats, the development and popularisation of the best technological solutions to strengthen environmental protection measures for the population.

As a large industrial enterprise, Nizhnekamskneftekhim has paid great attention to environmental issues throughout its history. Moreover, the company is engaged in improving the environmental background in stages. Starting from 2001, petrochemists have implemented four large-scale environmental programmes, this year the fifth has been adopted.

Within the framework of the fourth environmental programme alone, designed for the period 2014-2020, 490 measures worth 7,96 billion rubles were implemented. Sixty-one events were implemented in 2020.

During the period of the 4th environmental programme, 141 measures for the protection of atmospheric air were implemented, the costs of which amounted to 786,7 million rubles, 83 measures were carried out to reduce waste generation, protect land resources in the amount of 1513,4 million rubles.

Due to the implementation of the measures, it was possible to prevent:

• emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere — 3,6 thousand tonnes;
• wastewater discharge into a reservoir — 8,7 million cubic metres;
• discharge of pollutants into a water body — 6,2 thousand tonnes;
• formation of non-recyclable waste — 15,2 thousand tonnes;
• generation of recyclable waste — 46,5 thousand tonnes;
• river water consumption — 11,1 million cubic metres.

The company has waste disposal and neutralisation facilities, waste disposal facilities. The activity is carried out in accordance with the waste management license and permits. In 2020, 78,5% of waste was recycled.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim constantly works to improve the efficiency of the use of recycled water through the introduction of advanced water treatment technologies and the reconstruction of cooling towers. From 2014 to 2020, 16 cooling towers were reconstructed, which made it possible to achieve energy consumption savings of up to 16,1 million kWh/year.

“Within the framework of the fourth environmental programme, two stages of reconstruction of biological treatment facilities were carried out, which are on the balance sheet of Nizhnekamskneftekhim and are intended for treatment of not only the wastewater of the enterprise itself, but also wastewater from the industrial hub, as well as municipal municipal wastewater," said Oleg Grishakov, the deputy chief engineer for environmental protection — head of the Environmental Safety Department at Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC.

To ensure trouble-free transportation of chemically polluted wastewater from the industrial site to the BTF and unloading of the existing collector of chemically polluted wastewater, the works on the construction of the new off-site collector with a total length of about 15 kilometres has been completed as part of the reconstruction.

The total cost of the BTF reconstruction amounted to more than 3 billion rubles.

12,5 billion rubles for the implementation of the fifth environmental programme

In 2021, Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC developed and started implementing the fifth environmental programme, designed for 2021-2025. The measures are aimed at improving the environmental efficiency of production facilities, reconstruction, development of existing and creation of new environmental facilities, improvement of the monitoring system. The target costs amount to 12,5 billion rubles.

“The fifth environmental programme is voluminous in terms of financing and the works performed. The figure is huge — more than 12 billion rubles. The volume of financing of the previous one is more than 7 billion, and it has shown its effectiveness and necessity. We see this by reducing emissions and river water consumption," said the director general of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, Ayrat Safin.

This year, as part of the implementation of the fifth environmental programme, the company has started the third stage of the reconstruction of biological treatment facilities. It is planned to carry out works on the reconstruction of the tertiary treatment plant and the disinfection unit using modern technologies. The planned completion date is 2023, the cost is 1,4 billion rubles.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim replenishes aquatic biological resources annually. The thing is that on the balance sheet of the enterprise, there is a water abstraction intake, which is a source of drinking and process water supply of the city of Nizhnekamsk.

For compensatory measures to compensate for the damage caused to aquatic bioresources as a result of water intake activities, in 2020, 7,6 thousand carp were released into the Kama Reach of the Kuibyshev Reservoir, in 2021 — 125,6 thousand pieces of sterlet, which is more than four tonnes of fish products.

“Together with the involvement of the federal scientific institution and Rosrybolovstvo, we are working to determine how much fish and what varieties our company should release into the reservoir. If in previous years we produced carp fry, this year we are releasing sterlet for the first time. On a tender basis, the pond farm that grows fish fry for us is determined, the place for their release is determined by Rosrybolovstvo. To do this, favourable natural conditions and a feed base are taken into account so that the fish will live there," Svetlana Yamkova said.

Petrochemists make a significant contribution to the improvement and landscaping of the sanitary protection zone, the enterprise, the city and Neftekhimik Park. They plant trees, restoring order in the entrusted territories.

Last year, the company's employees planted 300 seedlings of spruce and mountain ash along the city highway. In 2021, an alley of 30 chestnuts replenished the Petrochemists Park, dozens more seedlings of various trees decorated the company's territory, more than 50 trees were planted in sponsored schools, 76 pine trees were planted as part of the Garden of Memory campaign along the Sobolekovskaya highway.

“Planting trees is something sacred. We leave all this to future generations, we contribute to the environment of our already green city, so that there is a desire to live, work, and create here!” the director general of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC, Ayrat Safin, commented, planting trees.

Besides, in 2019-2020, 6,700 young seedlings — rowan, linden, apple, birch and coniferous trees — were planted in the village of Prosti as part of compensatory plantings during the implementation of the project for the construction of the new power facility — combined-cycle power plant with a capacity of 495 MW and 110 kV networks of high-voltage power transmission lines (power lines) intended for the scheme of issuing electric power to the new energy source. More than 45 thousand coniferous and deciduous seedlings replenished the green resources of Nizhnekamsk in 2021.

Environmental protection activities of the enterprise, the practical actions of which are related to the implementation of promising environmental programmes — it is a systematic work organised and aimed at the sustainable development of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC. Petrochemists are confident that, in addition to the growth of production and economic results, the quality of life of the company's employees, citizens and all residents of Tatarstan will increase.

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