BAGGIOVARA, (Modena, Italy) – On 24 February 2016 a Convention on “Energy Saving in Ceramics” was held in Baggiovara, near Modena (Italy). The event was organised by ACIMAC – the Association of Italian Manufacturers of Machinery and Equipment for Ceramics – together with Ceramic World Review, a magazine specialised in the field of ceramics. Professor Paolo Zannini of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, who introduced the day, wanted to emphasise the importance of accurate energy management, an extremely significant factor for the ceramics sector, which has always been highly energy conscious.
Various themes were covered during the convention, with particular attention paid to the use of cogeneration in the field of ceramics. Cefla, which has over thirty years of experience as a technological partner in the ceramics sector, was represented among the speakers by Stefano Cocchi, Sales Engineer of the Plant Solutions Business Unit. He spoke on the subject of the ongoing development of cogeneration systems in the ceramics industry.
The new regulations pertaining to the self-production of electricity were introduced during the first part of the presentation, with particular reference to the legally required levels of energy performance for tax relief purposes, both in existing systems and in newly created systems. Secondly, an important case study regarding the substitution of a cogeneration plant with a new turbine was presented. The data showed that, thanks to White Certificates (CAR) issued to new plants, the substitution of cogeneration plants has become potentially interesting for the ceramics sector. Furthermore, considering the potentially major maintenance costs of an existing turbine, the possibility of re-evaluating the correct size of the plant (implementation of the plant, in the case of greater or lesser production, when the establishment has lower energy requirements than it had in the past) and the increased intrinsic efficiency of new machinery, the economic benefits appear extremely interesting for this sector, even at industrial level. Reviews of this kind can also become an opportunity to carry out energy assessments of the procedures, also evaluating the possibility of integrating the different technologies available: one example could be the pairing of solutions with an internal combustion engine with thermal recovery from furnaces or with the installation of a new turbine.
It was, in fact, a day of extremely interesting detailed analyses, with experts and companies which play leading roles in the field illustrating the major themes and new developments in the sector, both from a technical-application point of view and illustrating solutions that could be potentially useful for the further improvement of energy management within Italian ceramics companies.
For more informations Download the Cefla’s presentation.
