Energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for new and old plants

The call for economically viable use of energy and other resources has become louder and louder in recent years. The processing steps in thermal process engineering have to meet this challenge as well. Therefore, very individual heating, gassing and handling concepts as well as kiln gas distribution or sluice systems have to be chosen for each task.

According to the insights gained by the industry’s umbrella organization CECOF (The European Committee of Industrial Furnace and Heating Equipment Associations), up to 20 % of the machines and processes used in industrial production are more than ten years old and consume more energy than needed. For this reason, it is necessary to develop measures reducing energy consumption and thus the costs of such plants.

The suppliers of thermal process plants for the ceramics industry have been able to continuously reduce the specific energy requirement for the products fired and have worked out solutions for the ceramics sector, which have meanwhile been applied in other areas, too. The manufacturers of refractories for the construction of industrial furnaces, for example, have developed foamed, refractory components (foamed refractories) for use at temperatures up to 1750 ° C.

Conversely, new ideas from other areas flow into the ceramics sector. For example, there are a few new approaches for the development of materials cycles – ranging from the raw material to the production and recycling of the products used according to the cradle-to-cradle concept, which are currently also being worked out in the ceramics industry. By proceeding in this way, it might be possible to succeed in reusing materials that have been pre-reacted in a first firing process. As a result, the benefits of both the improved energy efficiency and the increased material efficiency can be reaped.

The ceramitec fair offers the ceramics industry ideal conditions for gathering information on these approaches and processes and for developing them successfully. All well-known exhibitors will be represented at this key trade show and present innovative solutions for the ceramics industry.