Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
At the Department of Physical Chemistry Faculty of Natural Sciences Novosibirsk State University has completed the first semester of its new course, "Physicochemical Processes in Industrial Technologies." Since the beginning of the academic year, 17 undergraduate and two graduate students have visited 10 enterprises in the Novosibirsk region, including Elektroconnect LLC, Tayra LLC, SKTB Katalizator, VPK-Oil, Likolor Brick Factory, STM-Cosmetics, the Sibiar Plant, the Berdsk Sibbiopharm Plant, and PFC Obnovlenie (Renewal). On the eve of the New Year holidays, 17 undergraduate and two graduate students successfully passed the test, which involved describing at least one physicochemical process at each enterprise. Next semester, the students plan to visit up to 20 more enterprises. The course instructors are Alexander Kulaev, a specialist at the NSU Center for Interaction with Government Authorities and Industrial Partners (VOVIIP NSU), and the acting head of the department. Department of Physical Chemistry of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU Ekaterina Parkhomchuk.
The new course "Physicochemical Foundations of Industrial Processes," which our students simply call "Plants," is essentially a field trip to industrial plants in Novosibirsk and the Novosibirsk region. There, they learn about the history of the plants, as well as the production, technological, human resources, economic, and other challenges associated with industrial production. The emphasis is on the physical and chemical aspects of the plant's operations. The course's value lies primarily in giving undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to see firsthand what lies behind the term "industrial production" and understand how physical chemistry relates to plants of various types, pharmaceutical production, the energy sector, and even biotechnology. The course lasts one year. We would like to acknowledge and thank the plant employees, who welcome us warmly, show us the process chains, and even provide refreshments—sometimes the journey to them takes a long time. Students can then continue their education and work in this field, exploring and solving problems that require a scientific approach through their coursework, diploma, or dissertation projects at enterprises, SB RAS institutes, or NSU workshops, said Ekaterina Parkhomchuk.
The course program includes visits to various enterprises in Novosibirsk and the surrounding region—from a chemical plant to high-tech pharmaceutical companies and research centers. These unique excursions provide an excellent opportunity to see where scientific knowledge and young, knowledgeable professionals are truly needed in industrial settings. During these field trips, undergraduate and graduate students are introduced to technological processes from a physical and chemical perspective. Plant tours were held biweekly or weekly.
Students in the new course visited VPK-Oil, the only oil refinery in the Novosibirsk region, where experienced technologists explained the refinery's main components and answered questions. They learned that the refinery consists of three major units: primary crude distillation, including desalination, atmospheric and vacuum rectification, with a feedstock capacity of up to 800,000 tons per year; production of road and roofing bitumen by oxidizing tar with counter-current air at temperatures up to 300°C; and hydrotreating of diesel fractions at hydrogen pressures up to 40 bar and temperatures of 300-360°C to produce Euro-5-compliant summer, mid-season, and winter diesel fuel. The refinery also houses auxiliary reactors: one for producing hydrogen used in hydrotreating processes, one for steam reforming of natural gas, and one for chemical and biological wastewater treatment.
At the Likolor full-cycle brick factory, young specialists gave the students an informative tour and detailed each production stage. They learned that brick production is a complex physical and chemical process where thermodynamics, kinetics, and materials science meet modern technology. The students learned what modern production looks like from a physical chemistry perspective and saw the state-of-the-art equipment used at every stage, such as giant mixers, a gradient drying oven, and a 150-meter muffle furnace capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1130°C. This is no longer just a furnace, but a massive reactor where phase transitions, mineral dehydration, and the formation of the ceramic crystalline structure occur. The students were particularly interested in the use of machine learning for automated quality control and pattern verification on finished products.
At the modern STM-Cosmetics facility, students in the course experienced the entire cosmetics production process—from the raw materials warehouse to the finished product packaging. They learned that the same set of ingredients can be transformed into both a delicate gel and a light emulsion: they were shown how a stable gel instantly transforms into a suspension with the addition of salt.
Students learned how aerosols are made at the Sibiar plant. They toured all the workshops with company specialists and saw every stage of the full production cycle: from tin preparation and can production to mixing aerosol components and filling the cans under pressure. They learned that all components are manufactured on-site without the use of intermediate products, and that the finished product undergoes rigorous strength testing—cans are tested at 15 atmospheres, despite the operating pressure inside being only 4. They were impressed by the plant's production capacity—200 million units per year—and the breadth of its product range: from gas canisters and air fresheners to hairsprays, hair foams, and shaving creams.
Technologists and microbiologists from the Berdsk Sibbiopharm plant, the successor to the Berdsk Chemical Plant and the Berdsk Biopreparations Plant, founded in the late 1950s, gave students a unique tour. They explained that from its founding until today, the plant has operated ten 65-cubic-meter reactors, where microbiological products are grown. Plant protection products and animal feed are manufactured here. The plant's first product, back in Soviet times, was the antibiotic Biovit-40, which continues to be produced to this day.
The students saw the full production cycle and discussed key physicochemical aspects, including cultivation: from the cell bank to upstream and downstream processing. They also learned about gas delivery strategies—they learned about the importance of gas solubility during fermentation. For example, to effectively dissolve oxygen, it is delivered with circular mixing, ensuring the bubbles flow from the bottom up in a spiral. They also focused on engineering thermodynamic challenges—discussing how pressure suppresses foaming in fermenters and how to solve the complex problem of removing large amounts of heat. They were also shown a giant freeze dryer for gently drying cells and fermented products.
At the pharmaceutical production facility of JSC PFC Renewal, they were treated to a multi-hour tour covering all stages of modern pharmaceutical production. The students visited the pharmaceutical development laboratory, equipped with numerous chromatographs, spectrophotometers, pH meters, and drug solubility analyzers. This is where quality control methods are developed and materials for registration with the Ministry of Health are prepared. They were also shown how the company implements strict microbiological control. They were led through "clean" and "contaminated" zones, explaining that everything in them is subject to rigorous testing: medications, water, packaging, air, and even personnel. They were told how testing is carried out for 12 strains of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc.) and how pyrogen testing for injections is carried out using a unique reagent made from horseshoe crab blood, which coagulates upon contact with toxins.
"The education our university provides is fundamental and multifaceted, but in any education, it's crucial for students to understand the real processes that occur in production, whether in industry or agriculture. Unfortunately, it's quite difficult to provide such information in a classroom setting, or it requires significant effort to create relevant informational content. It's more effective, both from a practical perspective and from a reinforcement perspective, to demonstrate the processes students study theoretically in real life. Industrial site tours are essential to show students how the physical and chemical processes they study theoretically are used in real-life settings. Feedback from students taking our new course suggests this goal has been achieved. The companies we visited expressed interest in our students. We directly discussed with the management of some of these companies the possibility of internships for our students, leading to subsequent employment," said Alexander Kulaev.
Feedback from students of the course "Physicochemical Foundations of Industrial Processes":
Vladislav Nikolaev:
The practical skills we acquired at university were put into practice in production to achieve results and make a profit—that's what I remember most.
It is very useful to see that the profession I acquired, “chemist,” is not an abstract concept, but a very specific one, and allows me to say that I have worthy competencies for applying my skills in production.
Tatyana Demakova:
What I remember most was the passion with which STM-Cosmetics' chief technologist talked about his work. It was clear he took genuine pleasure in it, something we should all strive for. He also shared an interesting work challenge—how they created a lamellar emulsion. This emulsion exhibits anisotropy, so to confirm its formation, the technologists had to find a polarizing microscope. It might seem like a routine cream production process, but even this requires in-depth knowledge to be competitive!
Anna Izmodenova:
Renewal surprised us with its scale of production and the level of production control, with each product being inspected at least twice. Sibiar impressed us with its independence from other factories—it produces all packaging components in-house. STM-Cosmetics and SKTB Katalizator impressed us with their customer-focused approach, directly implementing development and adjustments for customers. The Printed Circuit Board Plant, despite its small size, proved to be highly automated and productive.
The course greatly broadens my horizons and demonstrates the opportunities available to chemists as professionals. It also highlights the complexity of the transition from the laboratory to large-scale production, which isn't always obvious to us as students.
Evgeny Eliseev:
It was very interesting to see what industrial enterprises are located in Novosibirsk and how factories and commercial enterprises operate. It could potentially help me find a job after completing my studies at university, or at least a career direction. This is one of the few truly useful practical courses, and I'm very glad I had the opportunity to take it.
Material prepared by: Elena Panfilo, NSU press service
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