OREANDA-NEWS. Pilot production of a new generation of polymer-modified bitumens (PMBs) under the G-Way Styrelf brand has begun at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery - the first facility in Russia producing bitumens of this kind. Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin recently made a working visit to the plant.

The facility, constructed under a joint venture between Gazprom Neft and Total, has capacity of 60,000 tons of PMBs and 7,000 tons of emulsified bitumen per year.

Production is undertaken on the basis of Total's Styrelf technology - a process which involves the addition of a special binding agent (PAXL) which results in additional bonding at the molecular level, meaning road surfaces are built with bitumens far more resistant to cracking and fracturing, even under significant traffic loads and under widely ranging temperatures. The useful life of such roads is increased two-fold in comparison with those surfaced with traditional bitumens. The Styrelf technology was specially adopted to meet Russian climatic conditions/

Raw materials for G-Way Styrelf PMBs are sourced from the bitumen facility at the Gazprom Neft Moscow refinery - fully reconstructed in 2012, with production of bitumen materials increasing to 1.7 million tonnes per year, and atmospheric emissions decreasing by 90 percent, as a result.

The Chairman of Gazprom Neft's Management Board Alexander Dyukov commented: "Experts expect the use of PMBs in road construction in Russia to increase three-fold by 2025. Gazprom Neft - already the leading producer of high-quality bitumen on the domestic market - is implementing the most cutting-edge technology to allow not just the construction of world-class roads, but also a significant reduction in the costs associated with maintaining them."

Sergey Sobyanin's visit also saw the unveiling of biological treatment facilities project initiated at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery in 2014. This new biological treatment system will allow the removal of 98 of all contaminating agents from the plant's wastewater, with 75 percent of water being returned directly to the plant's production cycle, reducing water usage at the plant by 250 percent.