Eni è stata la prima società al mondo ad introdurre nelle benzine, in maniera strutturale, un composto ossigenato come l’MTBE, etere alchilico con elevate proprietà ottaniche, commercializzandolo con l’acronimo “BD-1” (Black Dog 1) per richiamare il suo logo.
La tecnologia di produzione del MTBE è stata sviluppata da Eni nei propri laboratori di ricerca e, tramite il know-how tecnologico interno, è stata trasferita con successo a livello industriale con la costruzione dell’impianto Ecofuel nel petrolchimico di Ravenna. L’impianto Ecofuel, avviato nel 1973, è il primo esempio al mondo di impianto per la produzione di MTBE e, nel 2023, ha tagliato il traguardo dei cinquanta anni di produzione.
Negli anni ‘90, in accordo con le variazioni legislative legate ad una maggiore attenzione all’ambiente ed al miglioramento della qualità dell’aria, Ecofuel ha modificato lo schema dell’impianto di Ravenna per consentire la produzione dell’etere sostenibile ETBE che, sostituendo l’etanolo al posto del metanolo, consente di utilizzare, come componenti delle benzine, composti da fonti rinnovabili che non richiedono modifiche delle formulazioni dei carburanti o del loro circuito distributivo.
Gli eteri alchilici sono, a livello mondiale, dei componenti chiave delle benzine che, consentendo l’eliminazione dei composti tossici a base di piombo, hanno contribuito in maniera determinante al processo continuo di miglioramento della qualità delle benzine per raggiungere standard emissivi sempre più stringenti. L’aggiunta di eteri consente sia un miglioramento delle caratteristiche ottaniche delle benzine che una riduzione delle emissioni di CO, degli ossidi di azoto, del particolato, dei composti organici volatili e degli idrocarburi incombusti.
In un futuro ormai prossimo, al fine di contribuire ulteriormente al processo di decarbonizzazione dei trasporti, saranno utilizzate materie prime con sempre minore impronta carbonica come l’etanolo di seconda generazione, ottenuto da biomasse non destinate al settore alimentare (agri-business), gli alcoli rinnovabili di origine non organica (e-metanolo) o da rifiuti (bio e low-carbon metanolo), le basi idrocarburiche di origine bio.
Il metanolo è il più semplice degli alcoli e, storicamente, è stato principalmente utilizzato nella sintesi di composti chimici e prodotti finiti comunemente impiegati come, ad esempio, pitture, adesivi, fibre sintetiche, plastiche e solventi.
Negli ultimi anni, invece, ha acquistato sempre più importanza il suo impiego come vettore energetico poiché è il combustibile liquido con il minor contenuto di carbonio che consente un abbattimento delle emissioni nocive (riduzione delle emissioni di CO2 e ossido di azoto, azzeramento degli ossidi di zolfo e del particolato) e può essere utilizzato, senza particolari problematiche, come sostituto dei carburanti fossili tradizionali.
In alcuni ambiti innovativi, è iniziato l’utilizzo del metanolo come combustibile nei generatori di potenza o di calore (forni, bruciatori, essiccatori, caldaie), nei motori per il trasporto navale e nelle Fuel Cell.
Ecofuel prevede un impiego sempre maggiore del metanolo sostenibile (bio-metanolo, e-metanolo e metanolo da carbonio riciclato) sia nel settore energetico che in quello chimico.
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