Orion Engineered Carbons, a specialty chemical company, yesterday began commercial sales in Italy from the first new reactor for carbon black production to be commissioned in the European Union in over 40 years.

 

The new 25-kiloton line at the facility in Ravenna, in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, produces both specialty and technical rubber carbon blacks, primarily for the European market. 

 

“The new line offers customers seeking long-term solutions a unique strategic opportunity to align with a dependable plant that has been operating for more than 60 years in Europe,” Orion CEO Corning Painter said. 

 

Additional investments at the plant include a new co-generation facility to convert waste heat into electricity, generating up to 120 MWh of electricity per year. Seventy percent of the electricity is supplied to the national grid, serving about 30,000 households. Orion is a net exporter of electricity in Europe and worldwide.