The Chemical Experiment

Or how the Ruschem Big Olympiad helped school students feel like real chemists, process engineers and researchers.

The practical round became the finish line of the Ruschem Big Olympiad. 36 regions of Russia were united by this educational project, thousands of school students were able to try their hand at the fascinating science of chemistry.

JSC Metafrax Chemicals, part of the Ruschem Holding, has organized two Olympic venues in the Perm Territory: at the Perm State National Research University (PSNRU) and at the Ural Chemical Technology College (UCTC). 36 students of grades 8-11 from Perm, Gubakha, Kizel, Yayva, Lysva, Chusovoy, Kungur, and Tchaikovsky took part in a practical tour at these venues. These folks have successfully passed the qualifying stage and the theoretical round.

The practical stage started with the awarding of the theoretical round leaders. At the venues in Perm and Gubakha, the children were awarded well-deserved diplomas and gifts from the company. After the parting words, the participants went to the laboratories, where they were waiting for tasks related to production processes and products produced by Ruschem companies. For example, 8th grade students simulated the production process of JSC Kuchuksulfate, purifying natural sodium sulfate from impurities by recrystallization. 9th grade students used both knowledge and reagents to determine the substances presented.

It wasn’t an easy task for 10th grade students to determine the hexamine content in the mixture. 11th grade students had to carry out quality control of hypoallergenic bleach for children's underwear Tobbi Kids, produced by Ekol, a subsidiary of Bashkir Soda Company.

Thanks to such Olympiad cases, which are close to production processes, students were able not only to try their hand, but also to feel like real chemists, process engineers and researchers.

Yelena Semyonova, microbiologist engineer of the industrial wastewater purification section of the water supply and disposal workshop of Metafrax Chemicals, participated in the Olympiad as an expert:

“The Olympiad tasks of the practical stage were diverse and interesting. I supervised the practical stage of 9th grade students. The guys performed a task to identify an unknown substance using qualitative reactions. They had to identify seven substances (no names were indicated on the samples) using three reagents (hydrochloric acid, ammonia solution, and sodium hydroxide solution), which also had to be correctly identified first. There were also tasks for knowledge of applying these substances in industry and the national economy. I wondered that all the identified substances represented products of enterprises belonging to JSC Ruschem. The tasks weren’t easy, the participants had to plan the experiment, select and correctly record the necessary reactions and also draw conclusions. Not a single participant was able to complete the work 100%, but the guys showed generally decent results. There is something to work on. I think the folks lacked the experiment planning skills and attention to detail, because there were small hints in the task text. Well, practice. Practice is the path to perfection.”

The awarding ceremony for the winners of the Ruschem Big Olympiad will take place at the end of May as part of the events dedicated to the professional holiday: Chemist's Day.