ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8356-4319

Scopus ID: 14071153400

ResearcherID: B-2080-2016

Place of work, position: Head of the scientific university testing laboratory "Physical chemistry of coal" (research topics of the laboratory include material composition, physical, physicochemical, and mechanical properties of coal, standardization and metrology in the field of mineral fuels), Professor of the Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology MISiS, Moscow, Russian Federation. 

E-mail: s.apshtein@misis.ru

Education:

• 2010 — defence of doctoral thesis on the topic "Substantiation and development of methods for studying structural features of coals for determining the changes of their properties under external actions."
• 1994 — defence of PhD thesis in chemistry on the topic "Features of thermochemical transformations during co-carbonization of low-caking coals with organic additives";
• 1985-1989 - Postgraduate study at the Institute of Fossil Fuels, Moscow
• 1977-1983 - Dnepropetrovsk Chemical-Technological Institute named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky (Specialty of "Technology of basic organic and petrochemical synthesis").

The main stages of scientific and professional activity:

• 2017 — present time: Chairman of the Technical Committee for Standardization "Mineral Fuel" (TC 179);
• 2005 — present time: Head of the scientific university testing laboratory "Physical chemistry of coal" (research topics of the laboratory include material composition, physical, physicochemical, and mechanical properties of coal, standardization and metrology in the field of mineral fuels), Professor of the Department of Physics, NUST MISiS;
• 1989-2005: Engineer, Senior Researcher, Chief Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Fossil Fuels, Moscow;
• 1983-1985 — Engineer of the Central Factory Laboratory of the Dneprodzerzhinsk Production Association "Azot".

Research interests (science topics):

• Study of material composition, physical, physicochemical and mechanical properties of coals, as well as the content of potentially hazardous elements in them;
• Modeling of physical processes in heterogeneous materials based on modern methods of multiscale modeling;
• Development of process solutions for the use of humic acids from solid fossil fuel for clearing of heavy metals and other ecotoxicants from industrial soils and wastewater;
• Development of methods for assessing endogene fire hazard of coals and their tendency to form micro- and nano-sized dust;
• Development of technical solutions to prevent dust formation and coal oxidation during storage.
• Assessing the content of dangerous and valuable macro- and microelements in coals and wastes from their extraction, processing and combustion;
• Standardization and metrology in the field of mineral fuels.

Key research projects:

1. "Determining patterns of changes in the morphological and structural characteristics of Russian coals to ensure environmental safety of coal deposit development", 2009-2011;
2. "Creation of the foundations of environmental protection hydromechanical technology for extracting peat from waterlogged deposits for producing peat products for energy and technological purposes", 2011 - 2012;
3. "Development of methodological framework for predicting endogene fire hazard during coal mining and storage", 2013 - 2014;
4. "Scientific and methodological substantiation and development of methods for monitoring and predicting the risks of spontaneous combustion of coals and decreasing their quality during storage and transportation with the aim of reducing technogenic load on the environment (within the framework of the Federal Target Program" Research and Development in Priority Areas of Development of the Science and Technology Sector of Russia for 2014 - 2020")";
5. “Development of scientifically grounded proposals for improving safety requirements for coal (shale coal) cleaning and briquetting enterprises (Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2015;
6. "Development of scientific-based proposals for adjusting standards in connection with the development of the Technical Regulations of the Customs Union" Requirements for coals and products of their processing "(Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2015;
7. "Micro- and nano-diagnostics of mineral coal mechanical properties" (grant from the Russian Science Foundation), 2016–2018;
8. "Scientific substantiation of methods for coal products conformance evaluation for harmonization of standards and mutual recognition of coal quality assessing results" (Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2016;
9. "Quantitative measurement of germanium content in rocks and products of their processing", 2016;
10. "Justification and development of methods for determining the content of potentially hazardous elements in brown and hard coals and products of their processing, as well as measuring germanium in brown coals of the Pavlovskoye deposit", 2017;
11. "Scientific substantiation and development of high-precision methods for measuring toxic elements in coals and the necessary certified reference materials for assessing the safety of coals and products of their processing" (Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2017;
12. "Study of a method of outdoor coal storage with the aim of reducing calorific value losses", 2017 - 2018;
13. "Measuring contents of potentially hazardous and toxic elements in coals and their mining and processing waste for JSC Nazarovsky open-pit coal mine", 2018;
14. "Study of the effect of cryogenic weathering on the quality of coals in the course of their production, transportation and storage in the Far North" (grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research), 2018–2021;
15. "Determination of the number of combustible emission cases when using coal fuel and measuring content of potentially hazardous and toxic elements in coals and products of their combustion at the enterprises of PE Spetsnaladka of JSC SUEK-Kuzbass, 2018-2019;
16. "Measuring the contents of potentially hazardous and toxic elements in the host rocks, coals and wastes of their mining and processing at the enterprises of JSC Berezovsky open-pit coal mine", 2018;
17. "Formation of nano- and micro-sized dust when handling coals of different genesis types" (grant from the Russian Science Foundation), 2018–2021;
18. "Study of the distribution of different forms of iron compounds in the coals of the Berezovsky open-pit coal mine for assessing their behavior in the processes of producing semicoke of the required quality", 2018 - 2019;
19. "Development of scientifically grounded list of pollutants and methods for measuring the content of pollutants in solid waste of coal mining and processing to assess the safety of their use" (Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2018;
20. "Study of potential using ash and slag waste generated during coal combustion at the enterprises of PE Spetsnaladka (of JSC SUEK-Kuzbass) in production of building materials for different purposes", 2019;
21. "Laboratory research for selecting substances for coal treatment to prevent dust formation when coal loading into box cars, unloading, and handling at the coal receiving and transshipment point of Vostochny Port JSC (Rosterminalugol JSC) and congelation during coal transportation", 2019 - 2020;
22. "Measurement of the content of potentially hazardous and toxic elements in coals and waste of their mining and processing at the enterprises of Borodinsky open-pit coal mine named after M.I. Shchadov (the affiliate of JSC SUEK-Krasnoyarsk)", 2019;
23. "Mobile forms of macro- and microelements in waste from coal mining and combustion" (grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research), 2019 - 2021;
24. "Scientific substantiation of the coal product quality indicators unification for domestic and world markets and preparation of proposals for the national standardization plan" (Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2019,
25. "Study of the effectiveness of chemical reagents used to reduce congelation and dust content of commercial products of JSC "MC "Kuzbassrazrezugol", 2020 - 2021;
26. "Determination of the propensity of coals and their processing products to spontaneous combustion", 2020;
27. Performance of work in the field of technical regulation on the topic: lot 2.3.10. "Development and preparation for approval of standards in the field of mineral fuels", 2020;
28. Performance of works on standardization in the field of mineral fuels, 2015, 2016, 2019 -2020, 2020 - 2021;
29. "Scientific substantiation and development of the concept for coal classification harmonization for geological reserve assessment, taxation, statistical and financial reporting, state contracting of products, exchange trading, tariffication of transportation, and customs declaration" (Customer — Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation), 2020 - 2021.

Electronic resources:

On-line course

• Solid fossil fuels. classification, origin, properties (in Russian). The course is presented at the National Platform for Open Education of Russia https://openedu.ru).

Professional Affiliations:

• Member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Mining Science and Technology;
• Member of the editorial board of the Mining Information and Analytical Bulletin (scientific and technical journal);
• Chairman of the Technical Committee for Standardization "Mineral Fuel" (TC 179) of the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Russian Federation.

Key publications:

Tutorials:

• Epshtein S. A., Minaev V. I., Nikitina I. M., Kossovich E. L. et. al. Modern test methods for the study of solid fossil fuels. Tutorial. M.: Gornaya Kniga Publishing House, 2016, 108 p., (in Russ.);
• Meidel I. M., Epshtein S. A., Minaev V. I., Dobryakova N. N. Laboratory course. Removal of heavy metals from water using humic acids. NUST MISIS, 2014, (in Russ.).