Versalis Procures Ecoplastic’s Technologies and Plants to Construct a Styrene Recycling Hub in Italy

Eni’s subsidiary company and Italy’s largest chemical producer, Versalis has been continuously evolving to comply with the global demand for eco-friendly and circular products. In an attempt to consolidate its position in the market of recycled plastics, it has acquired the recycling technology and plants of Italian recycler Ecoplastic from De Berg Group. 

The deal grants Versalis exclusive rights over Ecoplastic’s technological know-how that would be beneficial in the development of a mechanical recycling hub at Porto Marghera. Ecoplastic’s newly developed cutting-edge technology utilizes the expanded polystyrene wastes generated from commercial plants to produce styrenic polymers, solid polystyrene and expanded polystyrene grades with up to 100% of recycled content.

The first phase of the construction of Port Marghera’s recycling plants has been planned to commence in the next year. This facility is going to exhibit a total capacity of 20 kilotons per year.

Styrene, chiefly produced from benzene undergoing alkylation with ethylene generated from oil and natural gas feedstocks, is a building block for the plastic industries owing to its tendency to get polymerized into various grades of plastics (predominantly polystyrene). Styrene-based materials are typically used in the packaging, automobile, and construction sectors. 

As per the market analysis of ChemAnalyst, Asia is the major driver of the global polystyrene demand that typically has a CAGR of over 3%. The market continuously faces retrains from environmentalists due to its dependence on petroleum feedstocks and its non-degradable nature. Recycling styrenic polymer wastes is an effective strategy towards sustainable growth and a circular economy. The construction of the recycled styrenics plants would facilitate sufficient recycled styrene supply and easy availability of the recycled downstream products in the packaging and construction sectors, thereby prompting increased usage of eco-friendly materials.