I recently returned from Novosibirsk, where I saw with my own eyes the world's only industrial production of a substance that is already changing our world for the better.
OCSiAl became the first Russian unicorn startup, which is valued at more than a billion dollars.
OCSiAl manufactures single-wall graphene nanotubes, a substance that significantly improves the properties of many materials.
Unfortunately, I cannot show you two industrial installations synthesizing nanotubes - the technology is kept in the strictest secret and no one is allowed to photograph the installations, and only a few have seen them with their own eyes, so I was lucky. The only thing I can say is that the raw material for the production of nanotubes is ordinary natural gas.
The first Graphetron 1.0 installation was launched in 2014. It produces 25 tons of nanotubes per year. I attended the launch of the second Graphetron 50 plant, which will produce 50 tons of nanotubes per year. So far, no one else in the world can synthesize even a tenth of this volume.
Adding a microscopic amount of nanotubes (hundredths of a percent of the mass of the material) significantly changes the properties of materials. First, they become electrically conductive, and second, their strength increases.
Already one kilometer of the Don highway is covered with asphalt with nanotubes. As the test showed, the rut resistance increased by 67%, the softening temperature increased by 10%, and the fatigue crack resistance increased by 67.5%.
One area where nanotubes will revolutionize is tire manufacturing. Nowadays, tires are added a very large amount of carbon (which is why they are black) so that they do not build up static electricity. If carbon is replaced with a meager amount of nanotubes, the electrical conductivity of tires will be no worse, they will have increased wear resistance and tires can be made in any color.
Next to the tires in my photo is a plastic children's slide. Nanotubes in plastic prevent the build-up of static electricity when children slide down a slide.
Another area where it is very important to deal with static electricity is working in explosive environments. (for example, in a flour mill, a flour suspension present in the air is excellent explosives). Nanotubes can be added to floor coverings and shoe soles. Unlike anti-static footwear currently being produced with a high carbon content in the sole, shoes with "graphene" soles do not leave marks when "striking" the floor.
Even glass containers can be coated with nanotubes, making them much stronger.
Nanotubes have made it possible to create conductive antistatic paint in various colors.
Adding nanotubes to the material of the speaker cones increases their strength and thereby improves sound quality.
The addition of graphene tubes to the anode and cathode of lithium batteries significantly increases the number of cycles of their operation (especially in high-capacity batteries).
Nanotubes can be added to many different materials to improve their properties.
Already now, nanotubes are beginning to be used in many areas, and Russian graphene is purchased by many companies all over the world. It is impossible to name brands yet, but I can say that OCSiAl is officially certified as a supplier of two of the TOP-3 global lithium-ion battery manufacturers, one of the TOP-3 in paints and coatings, as well as one of the TOP-5 global tire manufacturers.
China has begun mass production of 18650 batteries with significantly improved performance for electric vehicles. The cathode of these batteries contains Novosibirsk nanotubes.
A very, very small number of nanotubes are required to change the properties of materials. This is both a definite plus and a problem - it is difficult to evenly stir a meager amount of a substance in a large volume. To solve this problem, OCSiAl manufactures nanotube concentrates that are easier to mix with different materials.
The technology of graphene nanotubes is so new and revolutionary that many material manufacturers have not yet realized its benefits, so in OCSiAl operates a new materials prototyping center equipped with industrial equipment for prototyping plastics, rubbers and composites.
New materials with nanotubes are created here so that it is possible to demonstrate the advantages of the new technology not only in words, but also in the form of finished existing materials and products.
Plastic injection molding machine.
Production of polymers with nanotubes by extrusion.
OCSiAl Leading Scientist Alexander Khasin demonstrates how, in a few seconds, silicone, which was a dielectric, begins to conduct electricity after adding a concentrate of nanotubes.
Now OCSiAl is building the third installation for the synthesis of nanotubes, but not in Novosibirsk, but in Luxembourg. According to the company's forecasts, in two or three years, only for the production of batteries 250 tons of nanotubes per year will be required.
OCSiAl is a Rusnano portfolio company. The official opening of the Graphetron 50 was attended by OCSiAl President Yuri Koropachinsky, Governor of the Novosibirsk Region Andrey Travnikov, author technologies for the synthesis of single-walled carbon (graphene) nanotubes Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Predtechensky and Chairman of the Board of Management Company RUSNANO Anatoly Chubais.
On the sidelines, they told a funny story of OCSiAl's cooperation with one of the largest tire manufacturers. At the exhibition where OCSiAl showed their Ujet scooter (ammo1.livejournal.com/883266.html), they were approached by a representative of a company that everyone knows and offered to produce tires for their scooter, on that the company representatives said that they did not need tires, since their own tires with graphene are much better. As a result, now the world-famous concern starts production of tires with Novosibirsk nanotubes.
Graphene nanotube technology is truly groundbreaking. Thanks to them, batteries will become larger, safer and more durable, cars with different colors will appear on the roads. tires, many new materials will make our life more comfortable, and even ordinary bottles will become much more difficult break up.
© 2020, Alexey Nadezhin
The main topic of my blog is technology in human life. I write reviews, share experiences, talk about all sorts of interesting things. My second project - lamptest.ru. I test LED bulbs and help figure out which ones are good and which are not so good.