Part of An Innovative Treatment System “Biosfera” Now Installed at Moscow Refinery

Installation of flotation-system equipment (part of a biological treatment facility “Biosfera”) has now been completed at the Gazprom Neft Moscow Refinery. Flotation facilities are designed to remove oil products and particles in suspension from wastewater and effluent. Cutting-edge induced-air flotation (“pressure-flotation”) technology — through which airflow is used to remove impurities from water — will be used at the Biosfera complex. A total six units have been installed, with capacity for treating more than 5,000 cubic metres of water per hour.

The commissioning of the Biosfera in 2017 will allow the plant to increase its decontamination efficiency to a level of up to 99 percent, consistent with international best practice and exceeding domestic requirements.* Thanks to this cutting-edge water-treatment system the Moscow Refinery will reduce its consumption of river-sourced water by a factor of 2.5. Up to 75 percent of water utilised will be returned to the production cycle, reducing the burden on the local Mosvodokanal treatment system and significantly reducing the refinery’s impact on the environment.

Investment in construction of the Biosfera stands at more than RUB8 billion.

Construction of this most advanced treatment system is a key project in the second stage of the thoroughgoing modernisation of the Moscow Refinery currently being undertaken by Gazprom Neft. The basic design of the Biosfera facility, developed by NPK Mediana-Filter, envisages the use of a multi-stage biological purification system unique to Russia’s refining sector. Wastewater will pass, in sequence, through the filtration units, through a biological treatment facility, through a carbon filtration unit, a membrane bioreactor, and a reverse-osmosis unit.

As part of the first stage of modernisation at the plant the obsolete treatment system has already been removed and new cutting-edge closed mechanical facilities — with decontamination efficiency of up to 95 percent — installed.

Construction of a treatment facility for sulphur-alkaline waste and process condensate has been ongoing at the plant since 2015. Together these facilities comprise the most cutting-edge treatment facilities at the Moscow Refinery.