Hydrochem Doesn’t Stop! After 10 Years, the Extractive Distillation Plant is Back in Action

In June 2021, the so-called (now former) “Extractive” plant, an extractive distillation facility built in 1999, was reactivated and now converted for traditional distillation.

The conversion occurred as part of the innovative industrial plan developed by the Esseco Group, which included a €45 million investment and the acquisition of Hydrochem Italia in 2019. The operation’s primary and largely achieved goal was to improve the energy efficiency of Hydrochem Italia’s facilities.

History

The extractive distillation plant at the Pieve Vergonte industrial site was constructed in 1999 for the production of dichlorotoluenes. Always known as the “Extractive,” the plant consists of a series of three distillation columns, each 54 meters tall, capable of producing about 2,500 tons/year of products. It remained operational for about a decade but was permanently shut down in 2010 due to low productivity, which made its operation economically unfeasible.

In 2019, following the acquisition of Hydrochem Italia, the Esseco Group initiated a relaunch program for the Pieve production site. The initial plan did not include restarting the former “Extractive”; however, after a detailed technical-economic analysis, the Esseco Group, through Hydrochem Italia, decided to further invest in reactivating the plant, increasing its efficiency and productivity, with the strategic goal of enhancing and improving the quality of the products made in the chloroaromatics production department.

At the end of 2020, a program of revamping and extraordinary maintenance was initiated to convert the plant’s operation from extractive distillation to traditional distillation, increasing the production capacity of the current monochlorotoluenes plant.

In June 2021, the former “Extractive” was reactivated and, thanks to the new facility, Hydrochem Italia is now able to increase the production capacity of chloroaromatic products by 20%, reaching approximately 25,000 tons/year, supporting the continuously growing and developing agrochemical and pharmaceutical markets.

This new plant integration has also enabled Hydrochem Italia to improve its energy efficiency, ensuring savings in steam use and consequently natural gas.