Bergamo, April 18th 2024

 

The SIAD Group, in co-operation with Enviral, a member of the Envien Group and Slovenské Liehovary a likérky, have installed a new plant to capture and liquefy biogenic carbon dioxide.

The plant, developed in Leopoldov, significantly helps to reduce fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions, and was manufacture by SIAD through its companies SIAD Slovakia and Tecno Project Industriale. SIAD Slovakia, established in 1998, supplies technical, medical and specialty gases, and will distribute the Carbon Dioxide in the Slovak market and neighbouring countries. The carbon capture technology is engineered by Tecno Project Industriale (TPI), a company within the SIAD Group which specializes in capturing, recovering, and liquefying CO₂. The carbon capture and liquefaction plant required and investment by SIAD of around 11 million euros. The plant will generate new direct and indirect jobs for approximately 10 people.

The SIAD Group and the Envien Group took the decision together to develop this project together due to their mutual strengths. On the one hand, the SIAD Group has already installed more than 300 Carbon Dioxide capture and liquefaction plants around the world, and on the other, Enviral’s Leopold plant is ideal for Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technology due to the capacity and the purity of the raw biogenic CO₂ from the fermentation process and the already existing industrial infrastructure. The use of carbon dioxide is extensive because it is used as an ingredient for carbonated drinks, food preservation, intensification of plant cultivation in sustainable greenhouses and vertical farms, water treatment, in cooling, blasting and cleaning, and in refrigerated transport.

“In the carbon dioxide supply chain, as in the other energy transition related markets such as hydrogen, biomethane and environmental, the SIAD Group uniquely combines the know-how and solutions of its engineering sector with innovative industrial gas applications. I am proud of our Group’s technologies relating to Carbon Capture Storage and Utilisation (CCUS) and the competence of our Engineers and Technicians; all this creates a unique solution for the environment and for the customers.” said Bernardo Sestini, Chairman and CEO of The SIAD Group.

The TPI technology captures biogenic CO₂ from the off-gas produced during the fermentation step in ethanol production. In the bioethanol process, starch from corn is transformed into ethyl alcohol through a biotechnological process. The CO₂-containing fermentation off-gas is transported via a pipeline to the SIAD plant for final purification and liquefaction. The Food grade CO₂ is stored in thermally insulated cryogenic tanks and then shipped to customers.

The annual production capacity is 40,000 tons of food-grade biogenic CO₂ , with the potential to increase to 80,000 tons in the project’s second phase. This would make it the only and largest facility of its kind in Slovakia. The current production capacity represents approximately one-third of the total CO₂ produced by Enviral during bioethanol production. By recovering biogenic CO₂, the emission footprint of bioethanol will be reduced. "Thanks to this technology, we are able to capture and liquefy carbon dioxide of biogenic origin, which will prevent the extraction of fossil fuel carbon dioxide from underground sources. Instead, it is captured directly from production at our facility and is not released freely into the air. This beneficial environmental effect in the form of reduction of fossil CO₂ is not negligible at all” said Peter Kostík, ENVIEN GROUP CEO.

 

About The SIAD Group

SIAD is one of Italy's leading chemical groups, with a turnover on 2023 of more than 1 billion euros, 70,000 customers and 2,278 employees worldwide. Founded in Bergamo in 1927, chaired and administered by Bernardo Sestini, it has a strong tradition and experience. The SIAD Group has operations in Europe and around the world and is active in the Industrial Gas, Engineering, Healthcare, Natural Gas and LPG sectors.

Since its foundation, values such as Solidity, Innovation, Authenticity and Difference have enabled the SIAD Group to grow, continuing to expand year after year in a responsible and sustainable way.

 

About the ENVIEN GROUP

The ENVIEN GROUP is a leading group of biofuel production companies in Central and Eastern Europe dedicated to the responsible production of biofuels from renewable sources and waste and the production of nutritionally valuable feed for farm animals. At the same time, it ensures the purchase of feedstock commodities for the production of biofuels, which makes them one of the largest players in the agricultural segment in Central Europe. In order to expand its operations outside the borders of Europe, the group has joined forces with Indian partner Zuari Industries to build new distillery based on rice and corn in India. The new distillery will begin its production early 2025 and will provide employment to approximately 2,000 people in rural areas. Since its establishment in 2004, the group has been constantly increasing its capacities and expanding their activities. It employs more than 640 professionals and member companies have hundreds of business partners in the petrochemical and refining industry, in the field of biofuels, in crop and animal production and in the agricultural sector, on a pan-European scale.