For years, we have been world leaders in the production of photocatalytic, anticontaminating and antibacterial ceramic, turning a generally inert material "active" in a well-being for those who live with our materials.
After 18 months of research Iris Ceramica Group achieves Emissions Zero, a project with a view to reconcile the manufacture of our material and the welfare of citizens who live near the production plants.
Ethics and sustainability have always been present in the history of the Iris Ceramica Group, that is why all the furnaces of the Group companies already abide by the limits specified by Legislative Decree 152/2006. Emissions Zero project, which required significant economic investments, goes beyond current requirements and drastically reduces the emissions produced to almost zero.
To guarantee the resistance, the absence of porosity and the great durability over time in the materials, the products heat treated at very high temperatures (around 1300 ° C); however, this phase of the production cycle does not seem to be enough to completely degrade the VOCs that are created during the firing of the ceramic material.
After a precise investigation on the possible technologies in the field of smoke treatment, "combustion with recovery of regenerative heat" technology was selected, a sistem consolidated in other sectors, but never used in ceramics. The system acts specifically with the industrial fumes that are produced in furnaces at temperatures of approximately 900 ° C, which guarantees a high efficiency in terms of reducing the volatile organic molecules still present in the fumes, including odors.
Emissions Zero is part of a broader research framework whose objective is to reduce the Group's environmental footprint by limiting energy consumption and, therefore, greenhouse gas emissions. An important effort that has allowed the factories of Castellarano to be equipped with three combustion plants with regenerative thermal recovery, the first in operation since September 2018.
"In a short time and with a significant financial commitment, Iris Ceramica Group not only seems to have solved the reported odor problem, but also, at the same time, significantly reduced other production emissions, allowing other ceramic groups to be inspired by the new technological solutions used, "commented the Mayor of Castellarano, Giorgio Zanni.
Some numbers: Legislative Decree 152/2006 establishes a limit for VOC emissions from the chimneys of ceramic furnaces of 50 mg / Nm3. We currently record values below 2 mg / Nm3, therefore, definitely below what is required. Even more attention is paid to the aldehyde family. Also in this case, Legislative Decree 152/2006 establishes emission limits of 20 mg / Nm3 and our plants operate firmly below 0.5 mg / Nm3. Odors are a special case: the measurements certify a reduction of more than 99% of odorous substances in each chimney. By olfactometry we recorded values around 100 OEU / m3 in the chimney and therefore almost zero in the most sensitive receptors (Mathematical model of backing over the first neighbor).
After 18 months of research Iris Ceramica Group achieves Emissions Zero, a project with a view to reconcile the manufacture of our material and the welfare of citizens who live near the production plants.
Ethics and sustainability have always been present in the history of the Iris Ceramica Group, that is why all the furnaces of the Group companies already abide by the limits specified by Legislative Decree 152/2006. Emissions Zero project, which required significant economic investments, goes beyond current requirements and drastically reduces the emissions produced to almost zero.
To guarantee the resistance, the absence of porosity and the great durability over time in the materials, the products heat treated at very high temperatures (around 1300 ° C); however, this phase of the production cycle does not seem to be enough to completely degrade the VOCs that are created during the firing of the ceramic material.
After a precise investigation on the possible technologies in the field of smoke treatment, "combustion with recovery of regenerative heat" technology was selected, a sistem consolidated in other sectors, but never used in ceramics. The system acts specifically with the industrial fumes that are produced in furnaces at temperatures of approximately 900 ° C, which guarantees a high efficiency in terms of reducing the volatile organic molecules still present in the fumes, including odors.
Emissions Zero is part of a broader research framework whose objective is to reduce the Group's environmental footprint by limiting energy consumption and, therefore, greenhouse gas emissions. An important effort that has allowed the factories of Castellarano to be equipped with three combustion plants with regenerative thermal recovery, the first in operation since September 2018.
"In a short time and with a significant financial commitment, Iris Ceramica Group not only seems to have solved the reported odor problem, but also, at the same time, significantly reduced other production emissions, allowing other ceramic groups to be inspired by the new technological solutions used, "commented the Mayor of Castellarano, Giorgio Zanni.
Some numbers: Legislative Decree 152/2006 establishes a limit for VOC emissions from the chimneys of ceramic furnaces of 50 mg / Nm3. We currently record values below 2 mg / Nm3, therefore, definitely below what is required. Even more attention is paid to the aldehyde family. Also in this case, Legislative Decree 152/2006 establishes emission limits of 20 mg / Nm3 and our plants operate firmly below 0.5 mg / Nm3. Odors are a special case: the measurements certify a reduction of more than 99% of odorous substances in each chimney. By olfactometry we recorded values around 100 OEU / m3 in the chimney and therefore almost zero in the most sensitive receptors (Mathematical model of backing over the first neighbor).
