Environmental Protection

The Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center (KhSC) is located in the Fili industrial zone. KhSC is essentially a high-tech heavy-industry plant manufacturing special-purpose products. As most of the processes used by both the main and the supporting shops affect the environment KhSC have been working to that this impact be minimized.

Within the framework of its technology upgrading program KhSC have replaced outdated processes with up-to-date ones. Thus a powder paint coating plant is now operated at the commodity manufacturing line to replace traditional varnish painting. This made it possible to cease disposal of solvents by the paint shops and to reduce the pollution level of process drain waters.

The existing layout of the KhSC facilities and the regulations governing the use of the adjacent amenities (more specifically, the more stringent constraints on the state of the air in any mass recreation area requiring that the density of any pollutants be within 0.8 ґ MPC where MPC is the maximum permissible concentration) have instigated the introduction of the evaluation of the pollutant levels in the atmosphere as an ongoing process.

An analysis of the spread of pollutants shows that the ground-level concentrations of both pollutants and summation groups in the existing residential areas, in the areas to be developed and in the mass recreation areas lie mostly below their respective thresholds.
KhSC have a utility water system of their own. Water is drawn from the Moskva river via one single intake and is then fed into the KhSC water purification plant. Water passes through gravel filters before being distributed to users.

As they complies with the Water Protection Plan and the Special Business Regime in Water-Protection Areas, KhSC have little, if any, effect on the status of the Moskva river.

Manufacturing or consumption waste may have a negative effect on the environment. Therefore water-protection norms and standards have been developed to govern waste management, the goal being environmental risk mitigation. These documents include
- Environmental waste-management constraints;
- Waste disposal norms;
- Procedures for establishing waste disposal thresholds and waste disposal licensing;
- Environmental supervision of waste management.

Some waste generated by KhSC is nothing but valuable secondary raw materials and should therefore be recycled. However, since neither appropriate recycling processes nor capacity are available to KhSC other, specialized companies are contracted to recycle this type of waste.

On the other hand, some waste materials are re-used by KhSC completely or partially in manufacturing processes.
The techniques used for waste collection, temporary storage, use, recycling or disposal as well as the implementation of the actions planned enable KhSC to comply with applicable norms for the protection of the environment from the negative effects of manufacturing/consumption waste.

KhSC have, at their territory, buildings used by test laboratories, workshops or offices as well as auxiliary departments (such as a boiler house and the transportation department) who support the operations of the main manufacturing departments.

The size of the KhSC area is considerable and densely packed with buildings having varying numbers of stories. These buildings can be viewed as a stepped sound barrier at which loss of acoustic power occurs due to sound bouncing, scattering and absorption.

Only screened sources of ionizing radiation are employed within the KhSC premises and the properties of these sources rule out any risk of emission of radioactive materials into the ambient air, soil, water bodies or ground water.

The radiation sources used by KhSC do not generate any radiation field that might have a negative effect on the residential population.
The KhSC 1998-2005 Clean Technologies Plan is on track. This plan has been concurred with the Moscow Environmental Management Department and provides for further reduction in
- Pollutant emissions into the ambient air from either fixed or mobile sources;
- Discharge of pollutants into water bodies via trade effluents;
- Amount of waste.

Projects are underway aimed at the recycling and/or reuse of waste generated by KhSC affiliations.

KhSC Environmental Protection Projects

A common water management system is viewed by KhSC as a major future goal since this system would enable KhSC to drastically reduce water consumption and to abandon discharging effluents into the Moskva river.

The ozone water treatment process developed by KhSC is applied for potable water purification and supply, treatment of organically polluted sewage, swimming-pool water treatment and has also been introduced at the Baikonyr launch base, to mention just few examples.

Putting in operation a closed-loop wastewater treatment system at the automobile washing plant has led to a significant reduction in the amount of pollutants discharged into the Moskva river.

A unique process of treatment of wastewater from the electrical/chemical plating shop has been developed and introduced to enable multiple reuse of purified wastewater by the utility water supply system.

In terms of the presence of major pollutants, the quality of water coming out of this process complies with the requirements for Water Category 1 per national standard GOST 9.314-90: Water for Electroplating Shops, and Rinsing Process Flows. Additionally, the sediment formed in the course of the treatment process can be used in metallurgy. Several electroplating/catalyst-curing plants have been undergoing operational tests at KhSC, Energia NPO, the Ritm plant in Moscow and the Mashinostroitel plant in Perm since 1996.

The use of purified manufacturing water in most processes dramatically reduces the production cost since less drinking water is consumed.
KhSC, in cooperation with the Mendeleyev Chemical Technology University, have introduced electrochemical dipping modules designed to recycle solvents and to treat wastewater. These modules are employed in chromium, cadmium or zinc-cyanide plating baths. The introduction of these modules will result in

- Prevention of the pollution of the Moskva river and the city’s sewer net by chemicals since heavy metals will be extracted from static-water rinse baths;
- Reduced water consumption and
- Smaller amount of chemical agents used for wastewater treatment.

Water emerging from electrical/chemical plating processes is fed into water treatment facilities. The waste treatment system complemented with computerized control of treatment facilities eliminates pollution of the environment by heavy metal salts.

A prototype plant that eliminates paint aerosols or solvents from ventilation-system exhaust air has been developed for the paint shop. High cleansing efficiency has been achieved through an intense heat and mass transfer in a low-pressure Venturi scrubber having a special gas/liquid separator. The introduction of this plant would diminish the annual emission of solvents into the ambient air by 21,000 kg.

The introduction of filters and dust/gas separators has resulted in the amount of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere reduced by 100,000 kg over 2001.

The use of advanced flue burning/cleaning techniques such as two-stage burning, flue gas recirculation, and the introduction of a nitrogen-oxide emission control plant has led to a 30 to 50-percent reduction in boiler-house emissions.

One stationary and one mobile vehicle exhaust monitoring and control stations have been set up.

The replacement of the outdated copying machines by environment-friendly units decreases the amount of ammonia emissions by 98%.

The introduction of risography in the document duplication process eliminates discharges of lead.

The KEDR system developed by LOGOS from Krasnogorsk is being introduced in the various corporate companies to computerize environmental status evaluation, monitoring and control. A mechanism will be in place to evaluate and economically motivate nature conservation measures as soon as this system becomes fully functional.

The Khrunichev Center is among the seven top Russian companies who won la Palme d’or from la Monde sans frontieres, an association which is a Green Peace coordinator.

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