Versalis: Developing more green chemical technologies

Recently, after receiving the 2022 Emerging Leader Award from ICIS, Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis, a chemical subsidiary of the Italian Eni Group, said that the company will further strengthen its position in the renewable field, Develop market-ready green technologies.

Globally, Versalis is known for its commitment to green or biotechnology, where the company strives to reduce dependence on hydrocarbon feedstocks and establish viable alternative processing routes for certain chemicals and polymers. Currently, the company is working with parent company Eni to explore green recycling technologies. "Versalis is not rejecting any technology. One technology is not better than another, and we are looking at all possible technology types," Alfani said.

Specifically, Alfani introduced that Versalis is investing in both mechanical recycling and chemical recycling of plastics. "We don't think mechanical recycling or chemical recycling are good or bad, but completely complementary. Circularity is very important to us," said Alfani. Investing in mechanical recycling will be accompanied by the establishment of the first chemical recycling pilot plant in Mantua, northern Italy.

According to reports, the Port of Marghera is an important production base for Versalis and its parent company, Eni. The refinery has been transitioning to a biorefinery since 2014. Alfani said that in the near term the plant will be made a greener and more sustainable by closing the steam cracker, increasing biorefining capacity and investing in new technologies such as the production of isopropanol. The conversion of the refinery represents a 20% reduction in the CO2 footprint of all Versalis assets. For the chemical recycling plant in Mantua, Versalis has acquired the technology to recycle styrene plastic from Ecoplastic. This gives Versalis the ability to recycle plastic waste ranging from polystyrene to polyethylene.

Currently, at plants in Porto Marghera, Brindisi, Mantova, Ferrara and Ravenna, Versalis produces monomers, intermediates, polymers and Elastomer products are certified International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus. Downstream products produced with bio-naphtha as raw materials can already be marked with "biological attributes" for sale, and downstream products produced with recycled chemicals as raw materials can also be marked with "circular attributes" for sale.

According to Alfani, Versalis has also invested in other alternative technologies to produce chemicals from renewable resources. The company acquired the "green" chemicals business of the Mossi & Ghisolfi group in 2018 and entered the second-generation bioethanol to address the product market for biofuels and disinfectants. In March 2022, the company increased its stake in Novamont and subsequently the Matrica joint venture established in Puerto Torres in 2011.