Iris Ceramica Group achieves zero-impact production

With an investment of about 2 million euros, Iris Ceramica has achieved the goal of the “Zero Emissions” project at the facility in Castellarano, Italy.

Eighteen months after the launch of the Zero Emissions project, Iris Ceramica Group has achieved its goal of zero-impact production at the Castellarano (Reggio Emilia, Italy) factory where porcelain panels and slabs are manufactured.

Although all the kilns already complied with the legal limits, the group led by Romano Minozzi and his daughter Federica (CEO of the holding) went beyond the requirements of current standards and entirely eliminated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the flue gases.

With an investment of about 2 million euros, this result was achieved thanks to the installation (from September 2018 to March 2019) of three combustors with a regenerative heat recovery system. They act specifically on the fumes exiting the kiln at temperatures of around 900°C, a solution that guarantees very high levels of efficiency in eliminating the volatile organic molecules still present in the fumes, including odours.

The facility now achieves a value of VOC emissions of less than 2 mg/Nm³ (while the legal limit is 50 mg/Nm³) and a value of well below 0.5 mg/Nm³ in terms of aldehydes (compared to the emission limit of 20 mg/Nm³). Excellent results were also achieved in terms of odorous emissions, with a 99% certified reduction and olfactometry analysis revealing values of around 100 OUE/m³ at the flue, which means almost zero at the most sensitive receptors.

The technology adopted by Iris Ceramica Group is a consolidated technology, although it had never before been used in the ceramic sector, and it has the versatility to cope with higher pollutant concentrations in the future while maintaining complete efficiency and consequently zero emissions.

Read the interview with Federica Minozzi published on Ceramic World Review 132/2019