Today we visited the “Enrico Mattei” Secondary School in Rosignano Marittimo (Livorno) for a lesson a little different from the usual: sharing with students what it means to pursue sustainable chemistry within a hard-to-abate industry.
Through the presentation by Annalisa Montagnani, Energy Manager at Esseco Industrial, the holding to which Altair Chemical belongs, we outlined our company’s journey at the Saline plant. For years, the site has been committed to reducing the environmental impact of its production processes, improving energy efficiency, and developing innovative solutions that balance industry, the environment, and the local community.
In fact, the Saline plant was the first in Europe, as early as 2005, to adopt environmentally compatible membrane electrolysis technology, replacing more impactful legacy processes.
As part of the discussion on innovation, we also presented one of our most recent projects, focused on the synthesis of fatliquoring agents based on chlorosulfonated fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)—a research line aimed at increasingly sustainable raw materials and production processes.
This project also has a story we are particularly proud of: it originated from a thesis by a local student, now part of our team, Edoardo Anichini, who presented it directly to the students.
Moments like these are important because they help bring schools and industry closer together, showing how chemistry can be not only knowledge, but also innovation, employment, and sustainability.
Our thanks to the Enrico Mattei Institute for their warm welcome and to the students for their engagement.
