“We have good plans for mutual cooperation”

Closed Water Circulation Cycle

Minister of Ecology Azat Ziganshin arrived in Nizhnekamsk with several important missions: to open the Zakamsk Testing Laboratory of the Center for Analysis and Technical Measurements of the Republic of Tatarstan, to hold a working meeting with authorities, ecologists, and industrialists, and to familiarize himself with the activities of enterprises in the field of environmental protection.

— The Nizhnekamsk industrial hub is the flagship of the economy. The unified sanitary protection zone includes 116 enterprises. Among them are such large ones as “Nizhnekamskneftekhim," “TAIF-NK," and TANECO. Over the past eight years, about 107 billion rubles have been invested in environmental protection measures in Tatarstan. Of these, 74 billion are funds from our enterprises. I cannot fail to mention the unified air quality monitoring system. The Ministry of Ecology has five stationary posts on the territory of Nizhnekamsk. Additionally, there are ten stationary facilities for data transmission from our industrial enterprises. Seven of them are from “Nizhnekamskneftekhim," two from “TAIF-NK," one from TANECO. This data is always available to the ministry online; we can have objective information on air quality, — noted Azat Ziganshin.

Issues of careful attitude to the environment have always been and remain in the focus of attention of the management of “TAIF-NK.” The Minister of Ecology was personally convinced of this during his working visit to the enterprise. Azat Ziganshin, accompanied by the head of the Volga-Kama Interregional Department of Rosprirodnadzor, Fayaz Shakirov, and the head of the Nizhnekamsk district, Radmir Belyaev, inspected the local wastewater treatment facilities. They can process 500 m³ of wastewater per hour, and during peak and flood periods — up to 600 m³. The degree of purification has been brought to almost 99.99% — which allows the water to be reused in technological processes.

The head of workshop No. 09 of the refinery, Ruslan Valeev, detailed the technology of industrial wastewater treatment.

— The first block of mechanical purification removes wastewater from various debris, sand, and most oil products, which are separated by settling. The second block of physicochemical purification cleans wastewater from finer suspended particles and additionally reduces oil product content through treatment in special apparatus — flotators, using surfactants. The third block — the membrane bioreactor — is the most important stage. Here, special microorganisms literally consume the remaining oil products, then the purified wastewater is filtered on ultrafiltration membranes. Then the fully purified water passes through the desalination process and is again ready for use in the technological mode of the production complex. Meanwhile, the saline solution formed during desalination is pumped into the subsurface at a depth of about 1.8 kilometers, eliminating negative impact on equipment and the environment, — explained Ruslan Valeev.

Over several years of operation of the local wastewater treatment facilities, from 2017 to 2025, more than 15 million cubic meters of water were purified at the enterprise. This is 1.25 times the volume of water in the Kaban lake systems.

— The “TAIF-NK” treatment facilities are impressive. Here, the work on a closed cycle for treating wastewater with oil impurities has been fully completed. The water is completely returned to production. And, as they say, even better in quality than from the Kama, — shared his impressions the mayor of Nizhnekamsk, Radmir Belyaev.

Atmospheric Air Protection

The company conducts extensive work in the field of atmospheric air protection. From 2014 to 2025, emissions of pollutants decreased from 16 to 8 thousand, or by 49.38%. A number of measures have been implemented, allowing significant reduction of flaring and returning gases to production. In 2022, the first automated emission monitoring station (AEMS) was put into operation at the refinery. By 2028, it is planned to equip all production facilities with AEMS.

Today, “TAIF-NK” has the necessary comprehensive environmental permits (CEP) for all five category I facilities. On the border and inside the ecological zone of the Nizhnekamsk industrial hub, two automatic air pollution monitoring stations operate: in the village of Prosti and the settlement of Stroiteley. In real-time mode, they monitor atmospheric air quality. All data is transmitted to the Ministry of Ecology. During the operation of the stations, no violations in atmospheric air quality have been detected.

— Joint work with enterprises and supervisory authorities brings significant results. In recent years, emissions of harmful substances from stationary sources have decreased by more than 41%, and the number of citizens' appeals on environmental issues has decreased by 145 times. Previously, during sociological studies in 2017—2018, one of the main problems was ecology and unpleasant odors. Today, environmental issues are not in the top 10 pressing issues in Nizhnekamsk, — noted Radmir Belyaev.

Waste Disposal

The activity of “TAIF-NK” in the field of industrial waste management deserves special attention. At the enterprise, selective waste accumulation is organized in specially equipped areas that prevent environmental pollution. The share of waste sent for recycling or neutralization exceeds 95%.

A significant event in the field of ecology in 2025 was the commissioning of the bitumen processing unit — production of concentrated hydrocracking residue, or CHR. Thanks to it, oil refiners completely stopped producing fuel oil — not the most environmentally friendly type of fuel. It is processed into light, high-quality petroleum products that meet the strictest requirements. The project brought “TAIF-NK” victory in the republican competition “Ecoleader-2025.”

— The residue formed during the hydrogenation processing of bitumen is a concentrate of asphaltenes — a very specific product. It has aggregative instability and tends to precipitate in pipelines and tanks. This is the scourge of all generation processes for processing heavy residues. And for the first time in the world — these are not empty words — we developed from scratch, starting with a laboratory setup, a technology that turns this sediment into in-demand products for the aluminum industry. This project became the winner in the nomination “Best Project in the Field of Environmental Safety” in 2025, — emphasized the General Director of “TAIF-NK," Alexey Khramov.

The First Climate Project

The year 2026 began successfully for JSC “TAIF-NK.” The oil refiners registered their first climate project for reducing greenhouse gases. Over six years, the company's environmental measures will reduce emissions by 560 thousand tons of CO2. Thanks to gas being redirected from the flare to the fuel system, replacing natural gas and reducing emissions into the atmosphere.

Previously, dry gas from the Gasoline Plant was flared. From October 2022 to December 2028, the enterprise plans to reduce emissions by 560 thousand tons of CO2, or carbon units. Currently, the company is at the stage of preparing the verification report. More than 250 thousand carbon units are already ready for issuance.

— “TAIF-NK” actively invests funds in environmental protection. In the field of wastewater treatment, the company has completely eliminated their discharge, returning them to the production cycle. Over the past decades, emissions into the atmosphere have been reduced by eight thousand tons. Today, there are no unpleasant odors on the territory of the enterprise, and cleanliness prevails. Thanks to such environmental initiatives, a favorable environment is created both on the company's territory and in Nizhnekamsk as a whole, — is convinced the head of the Volga-Kama Interregional Department of Rosprirodnadzor, Fayaz Shakirov.

According to Fayaz Shakirov, there are 455 control objects within the territory of the Volga-Kama Interregional Department of Rosprirodnadzor. As the head of the department notes, in 2025 they conducted about 90 events, 51 unscheduled inspections, and more than 17 thousand studies throughout the republic, so supervisory activities in the field of nature management are under special control.

At “TAIF-NK," environmental culture is widely developed. Company employees organize clean-up days for territory cleaning, conduct environmental education in city schools, and engage in paper collection and tree planting.

— We participate in the ecological life of our city, engage in youth education, and conduct environmental campaigns with the participation of our industrial hygiene laboratory. It is gratifying that children from an early age gain certain knowledge and skills, understand that nature is something that needs to be taken care of, — emphasized Alexey Khramov.

As Minister of Ecology Azat Ziganshin noted, it is openness and constructive interaction between authorities, industrialists, and science that have a positive impact on the development of Tatarstan.

— “TAIF-NK” is an open enterprise with which we have established constructive cooperation. The company is actively involved in environmental issues and green diplomacy: supporting youth, participating in various campaigns, and investing serious funds in supporting the environmental direction and developing our republic. We have good plans for mutual cooperation in the future. I think we will certainly be able to implement them, — summarized Azat Ziganshin.