Research is the pillar on which Condoroil’s business is based, to ensure not only quality, but also environmental protection
Condoroil Chemical is an Italian company that has been developing and producing surface treatment chemicals for more than 50 years. Research to define products and processes since the establishment of the company has always been directed toward formulations with a lower environmental impact, with considerable evolution over the years, which has seen the company expand the range of products and sectors served.
Since the 1990s Condoroil Chemical has then embarked on the path, together with the current Condoroil Stainless, of joint development of chemical formulations and related waste reduction processes. The Mission of Condoroil Stainless has been to develop plants and processes having the objective of minimizing resource waste in chemical surface treatment.
The technologies proposed by Condoroil Stainless, a pioneer therefore of “Green Engineering,” have demonstrated how it is possible, through targeted technologies, to reduce the consumption of natural resources, pursuing the philosophy dictated by the circular economy that prefers their recovery and reuse directly on site.
Since recovery technologies are based on molecular separation processes, the definition of pre-prepared formulations provided the best results in terms of both functionality and recycling rate.
Numerous patents have been filed and technologies developed with the collaboration between Condoroil Chemical’s Sustainable Chemistry and Condoroil Stainless’s Green Engineering.
In a general sense, we can say that In Condoroil a significant portion of human resources, as well as economic resources, has historically been reserved for improving the work environment, reducing environmental impact, and avoiding any form of discrimination.
Technologies serving the ‘green revolution’
“In the field of chemistry, Condoroil Chemical has achieved several goals of relevant ecological interest,” explains Stefania Panzeri, Marketing Department. Some significant examples involving past innovations are the elimination of nitric acid in stainless steel pickling, the elimination of hexavalent chromium in pretreatment to painting, and many others. The latest innovations involve products that provide important savings in economic and resource use because they work at low temperatures resulting in energy savings and without rinsing, thus avoiding the waste of an increasingly less available resource such as water.
As for Condoroil Stainless, using traditional and innovative molecular separation technologies, it manufactures units that enable users to regenerate wash and process solutions, oils, solvents, recover by-products with a certain commercial value from wastewater, and still purify and then recycle rinse water, all the way to zero discharge operation.
The technologies proposed by Condoroil Stainless applied to Condoroil Chemical’s products- but not only- are therefore the best example of how “Green Engineering” allows for a reduction in the consumption of natural resources, pursuing the philosophy dictated by the circular economy that prefers their recovery and reuse directly on site. Resource consumption no longer follows, in tandem, with economic development, and we are witnessing the so-called ‘decoupling’ phenomenon, i.e., the decoupling between the two growth curves, which is essential for environmentally sustainable development.
It is important to note that the application of regeneration, recycling, and secondary raw material recovery technologies to existing realities, and not just to new facilities, allows the decoupling phenomenon to be further amplified to the point of reversing the trend that sees, in the collective imagination, economic growth necessarily linked to greater consumption of natural resources. Solutions used in surface treatment cycles are no longer seen as waste to be managed, but as an economic resource that can be exploited. And it is precisely the fast return on investment that makes recovery technologies attractive. Since there are in fact no regulatory impositions, the driving force that pushes the entrepreneur toward investment can only be economic.”
Adaptable products for numerous applications
The sector in which Condoroil Chemical operates is very broad and includes a significant portion of products used in, but not limited to, metal processing, transformation, and protection. With the expertise gained from working in large operations, such as steel mills, where highly effective formulations that present low costs are required, Condoroil has quickly developed a series of products that meet the needs of PET washing plants destined for recycling.
These include controlled-foam degreasing additives, formulations operating at low temperature to reduce energy costs and achieve better quality flakes, and, again, technologies for purification, regeneration and recycling of spent solutions otherwise destined for purification.
The target market is Italy although there are numerous exports to countries in Europe, the United States, Argentina, the Middle East and North Africa. Participation in international trade fairs is aimed at introducing the company’s innovative technologies to a wider audience and establishing new contacts in differentiated fields.
Plans for the future
“Condoroil is a very technical company and focused on the development of new products and new technologies,” Stefania Panzeri continues. Suffice it to mention that out of more than 60 people in the office, half have a diploma or degree in chemistry. At the moment, several projects are underway, some dedicated to respond to the needs of new components produced for e-mobility and H2-green, others dedicated to researching formulations that can bring advantages on production lines of an economic, production and/or environmental impact reduction nature, and, again, technologies for the recovery of secondary raw materials from the wastes produced in the chemical treatment of surfaces.”
