S-Tiles - produzione

CONSUMPTION DURING PRODUCTION: PROCESSES, INNOVATION & ENERGY SAVING

The Tile Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) singles out the production phase as having the biggest impact on the environment and more specifically, where water consumption is greatest. The Ceramic District has recognised this problem by making significant environmental investments to substantially reduce water consumption in the last ten years.

Nowadays Ceramic District plants generally reuse, directly or indirectly, all wastewater and all production and depuration fragments, thus saving water and raw materials.

The Italian ceramic industry has successfully reduced its water consumption by maximising its efficient use. The Sassuolo/Scandiano plants have a potential water requirement of 8 million m_/year. The total water consumption is, nevertheless, around 4.3 million m_/year, only slightly more than 50% of what required.

Ceramic company water demand remains fairly high and ranges, depending on the technology cycle used and on the different types of product, from a minimum of 8-18 m3/1000 m2 for ceramic tiles produced with a double-firing cycle to a maximum of 800 m_/1000 m_ for the levigation phase for polished porcelain stoneware. Current water recycling practices have lowered water consumption from a minimum of 2-6-m_/1000 m_ for double-firing to a maximum of 7-15 m_/1000 m_ for polished porcelain stoneware.