Ferro: New catalytic inks for generating oxygen from air

Ferro Spain has won the Alfa de Oro 2018 award for a new sustainability project. It consists of a study of new water-based inkjet inks with catalytic functions that allow oxygen to be separated from air by using ceramic membranes in the oxy-combustion process.

The project was carried out in collaboration with Kerionics, a spin-off of the Chemical Technology Institute of Valencia and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

The working group’s goal was to create a ceramic membrane that would be capable of generating oxygen from the hot air recovered from industrial plants. The system will be used for the first time in the factories of Ferro, where it will be installed on oxy-combustion frit kilns with the aim of reducing energy consumption. The technology has many potential applications concerning all physical and chemical processes where oxygen is required as an oxidising element.

The Ferro/Kerionics study is based on principles of the circular economy in which all products can be recycled without affecting the biosphere while seeking sustainable, efficient and energy saving solutions.

The project was very well received by the ceramic industry due to its level of technological innovation and its contribution to improving the efficiency of industrial processes. Moreover, in view of the study’s strong focus on sustainability, Kerionics obtained recognition from the Repsol Foundation (a Spanish company operating in the oil and natural gas sectors) for actions and projects aimed at care for the environment and sustainable development.