Desalination Plant in Gela

Construction:

• Technology and design: Italimpianti (now Fisia Italimpianti), with proprietary expertise.
• Construction and installato: integrated with the industrial infrastructure of the ANIC petrochemical complex.

Technology used – MSF (Multi-Stage Flash Distillation):
The plant adopted MSF technology, based on the principle of rapid evaporation in multiple stages at decreasing pressures. This thermal technology, already well-established internationally, was applied here on a European scale on a previously unheard-of scale.

Production capacity:

• 600 m³/hour, equivalent to over 57 million liters of desalinated water per day.
• Production is intended for both the plant's industrial needs and the residential needs of approximately 400,000 residents in the Gela, Porto Empedocle, Agrigento, and Licata areas.

Historical significance:
When it began operating, the Gela plant was the largest desalination plant in Europe. It represented a pioneering project in the dissemination of desalination technologies in the Mediterranean region.