The IRNTU team is the bronze medalist of the Autumn Cup of the XIII CASE–IN Championship

The IRNTU Tech-Novatika team rounded out the top three in the final of the Autumn Cup of the XIII International Engineering CASE-IN Championship. The Polytechnic students presented to the jury the strategy for the development of the olefin business commissioned by Rosneft.

The competition was held on December 19 at the National Research University "MEI" (Moscow). The event was supervised by Reliable Change Foundation, The Presidential Platform "Russia is a land of opportunity", Non-profit Partnership "Youth Forum of Mining Leaders". According to the organizing committee, over 140 people participated in the event, including representatives of 25 universities.

Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, congratulated the contestants. In her opinion, the final of the Autumn Cup is of particular importance for the participants and the industry community.: "It is on such platforms that personnel are born who are ready to implement strategically important projects for the development of key industries in Russia. The championship consistently solves two tasks: it involves talented young people in the field of science and technology and increases the recognition of the achievements of Russian scientists – these areas remain priorities for the Ministry of Education and Science. I would like to express my gratitude for the support of the CASE-IN to higher education institutions, which are an important link in holding the championship and developing the branch student community." 

The IRNTU team became the third in the field of "Oil Refining and Petrochemistry" (Student League). The participants developed strategies for the development of the olefin/polymer business in order to ensure high profitability and strategic leadership.

Semyon Luppov and Artyom Andreev, graduate students of the Institute of High Technologies, identified three main pillars of Rosneft's olefin business development strategy. This type of business means the production of ethylenes and propylenes, which are used to make plastics, synthetic rubber, and surfactants.

According to Semyon Luppov, the first pillar of the strategy is based on improving pyrolysis (thermal decomposition). The constructive component is to replace the coils in pyrolysis furnaces with more modern ones, which will increase the yield of the target products. It is also planned to introduce anti-coking additives and additives for the completeness of fuel combustion, the use of flameless burners. A breakthrough solution is the use of catalytic pyrolysis.

The essence of the second pillar is the introduction of the innovation process of metathesis. The ultimate goal is to obtain additional propylene from ethylene and butylene. In addition, the IRNTU team suggested paying attention to cross-cutting innovations, including lean manufacturing and predictive process analytics.

"Our strategy will allow Rosneft to strengthen its position in the market of base olefins and C2-C3 polymers, as well as introduce a completely new metathesis process for the Russian Federation. The trip to Moscow was preceded by two correspondence qualifying rounds. The organizers took two weeks to complete the final task. IVT master's student Ivan Chapiga took an active part in solving the case, who, unfortunately, could not attend the defense in person. We would like to thank the teachers of the N.I. Yaropolov Department of Chemical Technology and our mentor, graduate student Maria Chapiga, for their support in solving the case," said Semyon Luppov.

It should be noted that the first place in the field of "Oil refining and petrochemistry" was taken by students of KNRTU (Kazan).

In addition, the Techno-Vatika team became the best in the special category "Breakthrough solution". In this competition, students chose the most progressive project among the developments of their rivals.

Artyom Andreev remembered the final with a competent jury. The Polytechnic student believes that CASE-IN strengthens students' personal brand in front of potential employers and representatives of the petrochemical industry.: "Among the experts were Rosneft specialists, including the Joint Center for Research and Development, the Department dealing with petrochemistry and oil refining. In their opinion, our ideas are superior to the proposals presented at conferences for young Rosneft specialists. This is very valuable feedback. We performed well, competing with the strongest teams, for example, from the Mining University (St. Petersburg), Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas."

The Techno-Vatican team was founded by Associate Professor Vladimir Konyukhov. In 2023, Techno-Vatika took the third place. in the final of the championship, the special nomination "Breakthrough solution"). A year later, this the team became the best in the field of "Project engineering"

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