There were held on June 04 through 05, 2024 the 17th Scientific-and-Technology Conference “Chlorine and its Derivatives 2024” on the premises of Moscow downtown five-star hotel “Balchug”, in the hotel’s conference hall called “Vladimir”.
The conference has been arranged by Association “RusChlor" in cooperation with Moscow JSC "National Chlorine Safety Centre" with the assistance of Russian Chemists Union.
The conference was attained by in excess of 120 people representing 53 legal entities. There were the top managers of all the 11 Russian acting chlor-alkali facilities making up the RusChlor’s full membership as well as the representatives of 16 associate members in RusChlor among the attendees.
In considering the composition of the Conference’s audience in respect to their professional skills it is worth noticing the fact that there has participated in the Conference the specialists employed by the engineering companies as well as those engaged in manufacturing and supplying the equipment, valves, fittings, and fixtures and shipping the dangerous goods.
It is also worth noting in this connection that, apart from companies incorporated in Russia, legal entities registered in the Russian Federation and governmental agencies, specialists from Belarus, Germany, the People's Republic of China and India have also participated in the conference.
THE DAY ONE
The rather traditional musical greeting was followed by the ceremony of handing in the Membership Cerrtificates to the following new members in Association “RusChlor”:
Saint-Petersburg LLC "VINK";
Moscow LLC "Company Group 'Afinara - IP",
“Jiangsu ANCAN Technology Co., Ltd”, People's Republic of China.
Chief of staff of the Chemical Industry Development Expert Board under the State Duma Committee on Industry and Commerce Mr. Leonid Kramarovskij and President of Russian Chemists Union Mr. Viktor Ivanov jointly delivered the opening address to the participants in the Conference.
In so doing although from different aspects either speaker featured the same complex of the intertwined problems: import substitution, logistics, and keeping afloat the Chemical Industry including the Chlor-Alkali one followed by their development;
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Moscow LLC “NIKOCHEM”, an Asset Management Company that manages valuable assets such as Volgograd JSC “KAUSTIK”, Mr. Michael Baranov gave a presentation entitled “The Contemporary Trends seen in the development of the Russian Chlor-Alkali Industry”.
The analytic conclusions featured in the presentation have shown the direction for the development of both the market conditions and technologies. The conclusions arrived at by a group of skilled, well-informed, and well-connected experts in the considered field for rather a wide range of facilities and on rather a broad time-horizon have stirred up an acute interest among the listeners.
Executive Director of Association “RusChlor” Boris Yagud made presentation entitled “The pressing issues to tackle in reforming the normative legal regulation practice in the field of industrial safety of the chemical industry sites”.
In so doing the speaker featured to the participants in the Conference the majour application lines, purposes, actual practices, organizational and managerial mechanisms for putting the reform into practice, the problems faced, practical experience gathered, and outcomes witnessed in the aforementioned reform of extraordinary importance. The speaker also illustrated his presentation with a variety of economic, statistical, and scientific data in order to summarize the process of introducing the reform. This included comparing the current state of affairs in the field in Russia to that of other countries.
Director General of Chinese company “Jiangsu ANCAN Technology Co., Ltd” Mr. Xu Yxiang made a presentation entitled “The most advanced electrolysis technology and services applied into electrochemical industry”
Among the other facts featured by the speaker in the presentation that stirred the listeners’ interest there has turned out to be most exciting one the information on the pace at which pace the company’s production capacity was growing and to which level both it and the company’s functionality have recently grown. Suffice it to say to justify that thesis that the company that has started its business from making repairs to the Japanese – made electrolyzers is nowadays manufacturing the high-quality ones on its own. This makes up for a highly significant fact for those manufacturers of chlorine and caustic soda in the Russian Federation who is mulling the modernization projects for their facilities under the current geopolitical environment.
Manager of German technical consultancy “Ing.Buro EWC East West Consulting” Ms. Nellja Weiss made presentation “Confirmation of the conformity assessment: Recent changes as of the year 2024” devoted to the important subtlieties often stumbled over in applying the imported products conformity assessment procedure applied under the Russian legislation to equipment in the first place. The point is that those subtlieties are obligatory to know all and along by managers of every modernization project
Seniour Business Development Manager at Indian company “Nuberg Engineering Pvt. Ltd.” Mr. Sandip Kumar made a presentation entitled “Innovations in Production: Design, Construction and Operation of Modern Chlorine Facilities”
It is worth noticing here that Nuberg is a well-known, highly respected engineering company enjoying a very impressive reference list of the projects that the company has fulfilled and put into operation all over the world. Of all the projects carried out by the company the presenter zeroed in out only those involving the chlor-alkali membrane electrolysis technology that were required to be fulfilled the EPS or turnkey basis.
Project Manager at Moscow LLC “VDK” Mr. Maxim Asanov made a presentation entitled “Plants for manufacturing and dosing the chemical products: the industrial equipment”. In so doing the presenter informed the auditoire on solving by his company a few nontrivial dosage tasks integrated into the overarching task of package filling, which is expected to considerably improve the logistics and transportation of the chemical products.
Director of Indian company “Equinox Software and Services Pvt.Ltd.” Deepak Seth made at the assistance by Moscow GC JSC “Rosatom Service” a presentation entitled “Electrolyser Energy Optimisation and Manufacturing Cockpit in Chlor-Alkali Industry - Experience and Outcome”.
The most important EQNX’s peculiarity is actually made up by the company’s core business. The point is that EQNX functions in the field of Digital Manufacturing. All in all the company assist its clients in transforming their data into a more understandable form so that the decision making should become easier.
The products marketed by the company such as its made Digital Twins, IT solutions, and servicing the operating procedures are deigned for the following three digitalization lines of activity:
- Design Engineering, Analysis, and Development Works (all of which will be essentially carried out autonomously);
- Process IT/OT (Data Engineering & Operating Technologies) or otherwise called “Manufacturing Execution Systems” to be essentially executed right on the production sites;
- Asset Performance Management, which will be essentially carried out in this case with the use of AI/ML so as to introduce the so called predictive maintenance environment.
The company has already both carried out and introduced into commercial practice in excess of 160 projects in 22 countries on 5 continents.
The whole presentation was mostly hinged on the heightening the electrolyzers’ cost-effectiveness.
Deputy Director in Marketing at LLC “HAVER BY wire weaving division” registered and having its head office in Lida, Republic of Belarus Mr. Andrew Lankevich gave a presentation entitled “Cathode grid to be used as a part of the diaphragm electrolyzer construction”.
The subject-matter of the presentation has turned out rather important because the diaphragm electrolyzers are still run at full throttle at a few RusChlor’s full – member companies’ production facilities, which effectively rises the question of the electrolyzers’ energy-effectiveness while giving it a very high priority.
Senior Manager in Sales & Marketing at Representative office in Russia and CIS for "Sunresin New Materials Со. Ltd." registered to Hong Kong, China Mr. Sergeij Shilov delivered a presentation entitled “The ion-exchange resin of the Seplite™ series in application to cleaning the brine under the chlor-alkali electrolysis processes”.
A pivoting thing is that the brine purification system is always a key-component of the membrane electrolysis – based technology process especially in the aspect to the membrane longevity. Judging by the questions the presenter had been asked it is probably a negative synergy of the two aforesaid factors that has stirred the attendees' interest to the presentation.
Chief Development Officer at Moscow LLC "Company Group 'Afinara – IP” Olga Bogdanova made a presentation entitled “A switch to the Chinese manufacturers of polymeric products The challenges set up by the market, solutions, and roundup of the products of the self-owned trademark of IPS™”.
“Switching to the Chinese manufacturers of whatever products”, - as Ms.Bogdanova had put it, - “Is nowadays a necessity for many not only in respect to the polymeric products”.As to the aforesaid polymeric products, the Chlor-Alkali industry needs those very much.Suffice it to remind to oneself about the plastic piperwork and accessories to prove the abovesaid.In so doing though it is necessary keeping in mind that the quality and durability of those products make up for quite another pressing issue. Ms. Bogdanova asked the listeners another thorny question in delivering her presentation:“How should one identify in a new, unaccustomed market a reliable vendor of the quality products so that the products would meet the client's specifications?”A big part of the presentation considered was devoted to practical recommendations applicable to answering that question.
Head of Directorate for the Industrial Internet Slutions at Moscow LLC “TerraLink Technologies” Mr. Viktor Mikhalev made a presentation entitled “Chemically hazardous production facility: digitalization in the field of industrial safety” the subject of which vastly coincided with the considerations given earlier in the session in the presentation made by Indian company “Equinox Software and Services Pvt.Ltd.”
In wrapping up the first day of the Conference its arrangers let attendees to discuss the outcomes of the collective work in the form of a so called “roundtable”.
THE DAY TWO
The day two started off with a report by the Executive Director of the Association "RusChlor", Mr. Boris Yagud, entitled "Market analysis of chlor-alkali production outputs both domestic and global, and the hot issues faced in ensuring safety in handling chlorine". With that report the reporter has given the listeners rather a wide overview both the aforementioned Russian and international markets’ current state. He made it mostly from the aspect of the industrial safety. In so doing Mr. Yagud has featured a few examples of the existing chlorine safety systems, accidents that involved chlorine as well as actions aimed to mitigate the accidents’ consequences.
The presentation has triggered off a squall of questions asked from the auditoire.
Chief Executive Officer of LLC "DCTI 'Polikhimservis" registered to Dzerzhinsk, the Russian Federation Ms. Nina Reijnish made a presentation entitled “The design and implementation processes for projects in the chemical industry”. In so doing the presenter has mostly featured a few projects out of the company's formidable reference list. The point was that the projects were implenebted by the company under the EPS precomdition (at the “turnkey” basis).
Engineering Manager of Saint-Petersburg LLC "VINK" Mr. Dmitrij Podryadov made a presentation entitled “The current state and future development trend of market of the polymeric materials that are aimed to be used in construction of the chemical production equipment”.
As it had been the case on the previous day’s presentation made on the same subject although being more explicitly focused on China, the being considered presentation’s leit-motif might be expressed with a single word. The word is the “import substitution”, which implies the problems faced in organizing the logistics and making payments rather than only those of the quality and market availability of the materials considered.
Chief Executive Officer of LLC "EMERALD ECOTECHNOLOGIES” registered to Vladimir in Russia Mr. Peter Gnatyuk made a presentation entitled "The EMERALD-made portable electrochemical units’ cost efficiency in manufacturing chlorine, caustic soda, and the oxidizing agent solutions on the spot of consumption”.
All in all, the presentation was in principle about the activity that Mr. Vitold Bakhir has been forwarding for the last thirty plus years. The aforesaid activity hinges on a so called microelectrolyzer (a sausage sized thing) being in turn built around so called Bakhir ceramic membrane as the electrolyzer’s key element.
One must accept that apart from all the well-known failures the activity considered has brought to its enthusiastic followers quite a few successful projects in various countries all over the world including even the US. This was in its essence what Mr. Gnatyuk told the listeners with its presentation.
Senior Manager for Client Relationships at Krasnoyarsk Public JSC “Krastsvetmet” Ms. Helen Popova made a presentation entitled “The precious metals industry growth and evolution: primary trends”.
At the first glance so to say the Ms.Popova’s presentation’s title sounds a little odd to the ear of a Chlor-Alkali industry specialist irrespective of everybody’s awareness of the mere fact that manufacturing the nonferrows metals needs caustic soda. On the other hand, non-ferrous metals are experiencing an incredible and explosive growth in interest due to the emergence of "New Energy". Suffice it to remind in this connection that the precious metals are also necessary in both the microelectronics and computer technologies at the very least.
Chief Executive Officer of Moscow LLC "LORTEX ECO" Mr. Vasiliy Anufriev gave a presentation entitled “The bellows sealed valves makes up for the only eradicative remedy for both leaks and accidents development".
As it had been the case for many other presentations previously heard at the Conference the subject of this one as such was not any piece of news at all while the real novelty being made up by the environment under which the Russian manufacturers, carriers, shippers, and consumers of chlorine are nowadays to take decisions including in the first place those linked to the import substitution. And in tackling the problems stemming from that environment new, non-trivial approaches are quite possible to both seek and apply. This is what Mr. Anufriev’s presentation was essentially about.
In the name and on behalf of Chinese “Bluestar (Beijing) Chemical Machinery Co., Ltd” Executive Director of Association “RusChlor” Mr. Boris Yagud made a presentation entitled “The most advanced, highly efficient, and process-integrated engineering decisions provided to the Chlor-Alkali industry”.
Speaking of the presentation considered one must underline in the first place the significant fact that “Bluestar” has been for a few years making up for a flagship for the whole chemical industry in China, which is even more true for Chinese Chlor-Alkali. As we have already stressed it before when, for example, discussing the presentation delivered by another Chinese company named “Ankkan”, there are such other than “Bluestar” companies in China that are also capable of both manufacturing and servicing the membrane electroyzer yet in so doing they all align themselves with “Bluestar”. Suffice it remember the following few facts to substantiate the abovesaid thesis:
- “Bluestar” manufactures all and is capable of carrying every task out for the Chlor-Alkali industry;
- Owing to its possession of all the necessary scientific-and-technological basis, “Bluestar” is actively developing the new, its own, original, and emerging technologies for the Chlor-Alkali industry rather than merely copying the Western-made solutions;
- “Bluestar” has been enjoying for many years very good connections to the powers.
This is what the presentation was about among other important things.
Executive Director of Association “RusChlor” Mr. Boris Yagud made a presentation entitled “The pressing problems faced in bulk transportations of the liquid chlorine with the use of the railroad tanker cars of series 15-1556”.
The problems haunting the use of the aforementioned railway tank cars are almost as old as the cars themselves. You just think! We are talking of a Soviet-time construction i. e., of the pieces of equipment that have long ago lived off all their safe operating lives but are still stubbornly prohibitively difficult to modernize to any reasonable extent. By the same token, it does not seem feasible to develop a brand new, completely Russian, innovative design for a railway tank car. To substantiate this claim, it is enough to note that the old design was created in the former Soviet Ukraine, and therefore it would be impossible to obtain all the necessary design documents. On the other hand though, bulk transportation of the liquid chlorine over rail is still considered absolutely necessary.
Another important feature of the presentation being considered is that it discussed the current Russian legislation norm that requires every railway chlorine tank car to be accompanied on its sortie with a squad of so called “gas rescuers”, which in the practice means that the tank car is followed in the freight by a coach carrying a few people over the vast expanses of the motherland, which effectively turns the people into miserable prisoners of the situation who are often devoid of even a reliable means of connection so as to timely notify anybody of accident if one happens.
The peculiarity of the situation is also that Mr. Yagud has been personally trying for many years to cancel the notorious norm but has failed so far.
Director General of Moscow LLC “Logitex Invest” Ms. Olga Volodicheva in cooperation with Head of the Production and Technical Department of rhe Ryazan’ branch business of JSC "SG-trans" Mr. Eugen Ostrovskij jointly made a presentation entitled “Tank-containers: experience gathered in practice of application in the Russian Federation”.
As it has turned out, the presentation stirred up a great interest in it among the Conference attendees irrespective of the fact that the presentation was scheduled to happen on the Conference’s wrapping up.
The point is that with the use of the tank-containers it seems possible to solve once and for all all the thorny problems mentioned in the previous presentation. In making the presentation the presenters told of their experience of the practical implementation of the discussed idea. They featured the very significant fact that although not without difficulties they had been successfully running the leasing business for a few years.
Chief Designer at Moscow LLC “Control Element ‘Sealing Devices Plant” Mr. Sergeij Gurin made a presentation entitled “The lock and seal devices designed to be fit to the tasks in the Chlor-Alkali industry: suggestions put forward concerning accompanying the railway carriages carrying the liquid chlorine”.
The interest in that last presentation among the Conference’s auditoire can be accounted for by the fact that there was suggested one more solution for the abovementioned problem of “prisoners of the situation” rising in the bulk transportation of liquid chlorine over rail. The peculiar thing there is that this time the solution is purely technical.
Upon the end of the Conference there was held a Panel Discussion there of the most interesting problems tackled by the presentations. The discussion was conducted in the “Roundtable” format.