Energy and Environmental Assessment of Cogeneration in Ceramic Tiles Industry

Maria Alessandra Ancona, Lisa Branchini, Saverio Ottaviano, Maria Chiara Bignozzi, Benedetta Ferrari, Barbara Mazzanti, Marcello Salvio, Claudia Toro, Fabrizio Martini and Miriam Benedetti
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Maria Alessandra Ancona: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Lisa Branchini: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Saverio Ottaviano: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Maria Chiara Bignozzi: Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Benedetta Ferrari: Centro Ceramico, Joint Lab SMILE, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Barbara Mazzanti: Centro Ceramico, Joint Lab SMILE, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Marcello Salvio: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy
Claudia Toro: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy
Fabrizio Martini: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy
Miriam Benedetti: Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Lungotevere Thaon di Revel 76, 00196 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Ceramic tile manufacturing is a highly energy-intensive process. Concerns about carbon emissions and energy costs make energy management crucial for this sector, which holds a leading role in Italian industry. The paper discusses the energetic and environmental performance of cogeneration (CHP) in the ceramic industry, where prime mover exhaust heat is supplied to a spray-dryer system, contributing to the satisfaction of the thermal demand and decreasing natural gas consumption. A thermodynamic model of a dryer unit, validated against real data, has been set-up to provide a detailed representation of the thermal fluxes involved in the process. Then, the thermal integration with two types of CHP prime movers of similar electric size (4 MW) is investigated. Energetic results show that the gas turbine can contribute up to 81% of dryer thermal consumption, whilst internal combustion engine contribution is limited to 26%. A methodology was ad-hoc defined for the environmental assessment of CHP, accounting for global (CO 2 ) and local (CO and NO X ) emissions. Results confirm that CHP units guarantee reduction of CO 2 and NO X compared to separate generation, with maximum values equal to 81 g/kWh th and 173 mg/kWh th , respectively; CO emission is decreased only in the case of gas turbine operation, with savings equal to 185 mg/kWh th .

Keywords: cogeneration; energy efficiency; industrial decarbonization; gas turbine; internal combustion engine; spray dryer; ceramic industry; energy analysis; environmental analysis; thermodynamic modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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