MOSCOW (MRC) -- Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has acquired on an exclusive basis the technology and plants of Ecoplastic, an Italian company of the De Berg group specializing in the recovery, recycling and transformation chain of styrenic polymers, as per the company's press release.
The present agreement guarantees Versalis the expertise developed by Ecoplastic, allowing it to accelerate developments in advanced mechanical recycling and expand the portfolio of the Versalis Revive range of recycled polymers, consolidating its European leadership in recycled styrenic polymers.
Ecoplastic has developed a production process of styrenic polymers, expanded polystyrene (rEPS) and solid polystyrene (rGPPS) with recycled content up to 100% starting from secondary raw material obtained from expanded polystyrene waste selected from the industrial and commercial sectors.
The new products will be used for applications in which sustainability and circularity requirements are essential, such as packaging and construction.
The agreement with the De Berg group constitutes a concrete step for the start of the first phase of construction of the advanced mechanical recycling hub as part of the transformation project of the Porto Marghera plant, where the installation of the units acquired from Ecoplastic for the production of styrenic polymers obtained entirely from recycled, already sorted and pre-treated raw material, will take place from next year. The overall capacity of this first phase will be around 20,000 tons per year.
As MRC reported before, there is more uncertainty over Versalis’ plans for its Porto Marghera, Italy cracker closure following local media reports that the company has taken the earlier declaration for a Spring 2022 stoppage, off the table, said the company in April 2021.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, July estimated consumption of polystyrene (PS) and styrene plastics in Russia rose by 4% year on year, totalling 46,540 tonnes. Russia's overall PS consumption was 328,980 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 23% year on year. Russia's July production of PS and styrene plastics was 44,520 tonnes, down by 4% year on year (42,770 tonnes).
Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC