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Sustainability
Volume 13
Issue 7
10.3390/su13074006
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Article

Cogeneration Supporting the Energy Transition in the Italian Ceramic Tile Industry

by
Lisa Branchini
1,*,
Maria Chiara Bignozzi
2,
Benedetta Ferrari
2,
Barbara Mazzanti
3,
Saverio Ottaviano
1,
Marcello Salvio
4,
Claudia Toro
4,
Fabrizio Martini
4 and
Andrea Canetti
5
1
Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
2
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
3
Centro Ceramico, Via Tommaso Martelli, 26, 40138 Bologna, Italy
4
DUEE-SPS-ESE Laboratory, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy
5
Confindustria Ceramica, Viale Monte Santo, 40, 41049 Sassuolo, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 4006; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074006
Submission received: 11 March 2021 / Revised: 29 March 2021 / Accepted: 31 March 2021 / Published: 3 April 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Energy Management and Sustainability)
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Abstract

Ceramic tile production is an industrial process where energy efficiency management is crucial, given the high amount of energy (electrical and thermal) required by the production cycle. This study presents the preliminary results of a research project aimed at defining the benefits of using combined heat and power (CHP) systems in the ceramic sector. Data collected from ten CHP installations allowed us to outline the average characteristics of prime movers, and to quantify the contribution of CHP thermal energy supporting the dryer process. The electric size of the installed CHP units resulted in being between 3.4 MW and 4.9 MW, with an average value of 4 MW. Data revealed that when the goal is to maximize the generation of electricity for self-consumption, internal combustion engines are the preferred choice due to higher conversion efficiency. In contrast, gas turbines allowed us to minimize the consumption of natural gas input to the spray dryer. Indeed, the fraction of the dryer thermal demand (between 600–950 kcal/kgH2O), covered by CHP discharged heat, is strictly dependent on the type of prime mover installed: lower values, in the range of 30–45%, are characteristic of combustion engines, whereas the use of gas turbines can contribute up to 77% of the process’s total consumption.
Keywords: cogeneration; energy efficiency; ceramic industry; spray dryer; energy analysis; process thermal consumption; gas turbine; internal combustion engine cogeneration; energy efficiency; ceramic industry; spray dryer; energy analysis; process thermal consumption; gas turbine; internal combustion engine

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MDPI and ACS Style

Branchini, L.; Bignozzi, M.C.; Ferrari, B.; Mazzanti, B.; Ottaviano, S.; Salvio, M.; Toro, C.; Martini, F.; Canetti, A. Cogeneration Supporting the Energy Transition in the Italian Ceramic Tile Industry. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4006. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074006

AMA Style

Branchini L, Bignozzi MC, Ferrari B, Mazzanti B, Ottaviano S, Salvio M, Toro C, Martini F, Canetti A. Cogeneration Supporting the Energy Transition in the Italian Ceramic Tile Industry. Sustainability. 2021; 13(7):4006. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074006

Chicago/Turabian Style

Branchini, Lisa, Maria Chiara Bignozzi, Benedetta Ferrari, Barbara Mazzanti, Saverio Ottaviano, Marcello Salvio, Claudia Toro, Fabrizio Martini, and Andrea Canetti. 2021. "Cogeneration Supporting the Energy Transition in the Italian Ceramic Tile Industry" Sustainability 13, no. 7: 4006. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074006

APA Style

Branchini, L., Bignozzi, M. C., Ferrari, B., Mazzanti, B., Ottaviano, S., Salvio, M., Toro, C., Martini, F., & Canetti, A. (2021). Cogeneration Supporting the Energy Transition in the Italian Ceramic Tile Industry. Sustainability, 13(7), 4006. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074006

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