News El 6 Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk, May 24, 2018 Aleksei Zalesov, Managing Director of ENERGOPROM – Chelyabinsk Electrode Plant OJSC, and Sergei Sotnikov, Managing Director of Doncarb Graphite LLC participated in a round-table discussion on ways to improve the environmental situation in the region and presented the plans of the companies for implementation of environment-protection measures.

This discussion was attended by the Deputy Minister of the Environment of Chelyabinsk region Andrei Novoselov, the Chair of the Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection of the Public Chamber of Chelyabinsk region Andrei Minchenko, the Head of Vremya Che civil movement Feliks Panov, the Chair of the Bioecology Department at Chelyabinsk State University Vladislav Yachmenev, and other experts.

At present, the ENERGOPROM Group enterprises have already commenced environmental audit at the production facilities and are about to launch a 24/7 video surveillance system to monitor the dust- and gas-collecting equipment operation. A stationary environmental post for monitoring of emissions will be built in the second half of the year. Ecological strategy for the development of the enterprises in the period from 2019 to 2021 will be developed on the basis of the findings of these monitoring efforts and the audit.

"I believe that the building of stationary environmental posts at the borders of the sanitary zones is a correct decision. They are essential for obtaining objective and all-inclusive information about the air condition," says the Deputy Minister of the Environment of Chelyabinsk region Andrei Novoselov.

The ENERGOPROM Group enterprises in Chelyabinsk are implementing a package of measures aimed at improving the environmental situation. A 'wet method' of anode pack cutting was implemented last year in the machining shop of the Chelyabinsk Electrode Plant. This permitted to reduce by 30% the organic dust emissions. The pitch melters were decommissioned by the company in the course of the pitch preparation shop revamping. The emissions of resinous matter will decrease significantly thanks to the change in the process.

"Being a socially responsible company, we realize the importance of investments for improving the environmental situation in the region. This year, we will invest in all of the environmental activities at Chelyabinsk Electrode Plant an 11-fold of what we did back in 2015," says Aleksei Zalesov, Managing Director of ENERGOPROM – Chelyabinsk Electrode Plant OJSC. 

Modern and more environmentally-friendly equipment was installed at all process stages as part of the Isostatic Graphite Production Setup project at Doncarb Graphite. The afterburner in the pitch saturation area ensures a high degree of deactivation of the emissions. The paste plant department now has an aspiration exhaust system that purifies the air in the shops.

"The plant will have a 5-fold increase in investments for repair of the dust- and gas-purification equipment in 2018 compared to the previous year. Significant funds have been invested into the modern and environmentally-friendly equipment for production of isostatic graphite. This new equipment is efficient: For example, the new furnaces permit to control the temperature inside the furnace with an accuracy of one degree. This helps to reduce not only the emissions, but also the gas consumption," says Sergei Sotnikov, Managing Director of Doncarb Graphite.

The attending experts highlighted the importance of public disclosure of the measures for improving the environmental situation implemented by the enterprises in the region and appreciated the initiatives thereof.