Gas and dust in one site
A cracker and a polymer line sharing a fence make Zone 1 gas and Zone 21 dust a single deployment question. The IS-04Z1 design target covers both, so one device serves the process area and the finishing hall.
Italy · Refining and Petrochemicals
Explosion proof mobile phone for Refining and Petrochemicals in Italy
Explosion proof mobile phone for refining and petrochemicals in Italy: this page covers the industrial poles of Sicily, Sardinia, Puglia and the Po valley, where refineries, crackers and polymer plants sit inside the same fences. It is written for the HSE, shutdown and procurement teams who decide which handsets are allowed into those units. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification programme in progress
Local approvalATEXATEX 2014/34/EU · D.Lgs. 85/2016 · in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
Sector · refining and petrochemicals
The Italian refining and petrochemical poles
Italian refining grew up in clusters, and the clusters explain the work. In Sicily the Siracusa pole at Priolo Gargallo, Melilli and Augusta holds several refineries and a petrochemical plant on one stretch of coast, with the ISAB complex the largest by far. At Milazzo, on the north Sicilian coast, the refinery is held half by Eni. In Sardinia, Sarroch near Cagliari is a large export-oriented refinery on the south coast. In Puglia, Taranto is Eni’s refinery for the south-east and Brindisi is a petrochemical site. In the north, Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi in the Po valley sits inland, while Porto Marghera at Venice and Ravenna are port industrial areas, and Falconara Marittima on the Adriatic has its own refinery. Italian refineries run on tight margins and a lot of the sector is being rebuilt, with biorefinery conversions and cracker closures changing what runs where. A handset for this sector has to be useful on all of them, because the people who maintain them move between sites.
Poles and named sites
- Siracusa pole, Sicily
- Priolo Gargallo, Melilli and Augusta: the explosion proof phone for ISAB and neighbouring refinery and petrochemical plants.
- Milazzo, Sicily
- Refinery on the Tyrrhenian coast with Eni holding 50 per cent.
- Sarroch, Sardinia
- Refinery and power plant complex near Cagliari with its own jetty.
- Taranto, Puglia
- Eni refinery fed partly by Val d’Agri crude arriving by pipeline.
- Brindisi, Puglia
- Petrochemical site, whose steam cracker has been the subject of closure announcements.
- Sannazzaro de’ Burgondi
- Po valley refinery in the province of Pavia; see the page on explosion proof phone for Eni.
- Porto Marghera, Ravenna and Falconara
- Northern and Adriatic port sites with refining, biorefining and chemicals.
Hazard types by unit
- Crude and vacuum distillation
- Hydrocarbon vapour in gas groups IIA and IIB with hot surfaces in play.
- Fluid catalytic cracking and coking
- Hot hydrocarbon streams and catalyst dust, with surface temperatures that drive the T class.
- Hydrotreating and reforming
- Hydrogen under pressure, which brings gas group IIC.
- Steam crackers and olefins
- Ethylene and propylene, light and fast to disperse when released.
- Polymer and rubber finishing
- Powder and pellet dust in the Zone 21 category, alongside residual monomer.
- Marine terminals and tank farms
- Crude, naphtha and product at jetties and floating-roof tanks.
Built for local conditions
What a refinery pole does to a handset
Poles concentrate hazard and people in a small area, and the shutdown calendar decides when work peaks. Four conditions come up repeatedly.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Heat and salt
Sarroch and Priolo are coastal sites on hot, south-facing land, so steelwork is warm for most of the day. IP68 sealing is aimed at salt, spray and washdown, and the temperature class on the certificate is the figure the instrumentation engineer checks.
Crews who work across fences
The same maintenance firm may be at Priolo one month and Sarroch the next. A device with an Ex certificate that is not specific to one plant, managed through a standard console, lets the crew carry it between sites subject to each site’s rules.
Islands and logistics
A spare handset or a battery at a Sardinian site is a ferry or flight away. A 4,000 mAh cell sized for a shift and a service route agreed beforehand reduce the dependence on a stores request.
Use cases · refining and petrochemicals
Where an explosion proof mobile phone works in Italian refining and petrochemicals.
Shutdown01
Fermata generale at a refinery
A general shutdown compresses a year of maintenance into a few weeks. A Zone 1 handset holds the permit, the isolation photographs and the work order, and a console can wipe each unit when a contractor leaves.
Operations02
Unit rounds in process areas
An operator walks distillation, hydrotreating and utilities on a fixed route. One device gives voice, camera and a position fix, replacing the radio and clipboard.
Contractors03
Inspection and scaffolding crews
Crews who serve several poles need a handset that enrols quickly and is limited to approved applications. Managed Android 16 policy provides that without custom software.
Questions · Refining and Petrochemicals
Frequently asked questions
Which sector sites are closing crackers?
Press reports describe closure of the Brindisi and Priolo steam crackers by Versalis. We cannot confirm the current state of either; ask the operator. The page on explosion proof phone for Versalis covers the chemical side.
Is one handset enough for gas and dust?
The IS-04Z1 is designed to Zone 1 gas and Zone 21 dust under one certification programme. At a given unit, the area classification decides the gas group, the temperature class and whether dust is present.
What do Italian refineries ask suppliers for?
Typically the ATEX certificate and, increasingly, the IECEx one, plus Italian manual and declaration of conformity. Each operator also has its own qualification route; ask its procurement and HSE teams, since we have no relationship with any of them.
Is this device on sale now?
No. It is pre-launch for Q4 2026, certification is in progress, and no unit is supplied for a classified area before the certificate exists. Evaluation units are offered under a trial agreement.
Enquiry · Refining and Petrochemicals
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for Refining and Petrochemicals, Italy
Tell us the site, the zone and gas group, and roughly how many handsets. The SAMS team replies by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule for Italy. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and certification is in progress, so there is no list price yet; indicative pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
Enquiry · Refining and Petrochemicals
Launching Q4 2026
Evaluating the IS-04Z1 for this site?
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.