Capturing carbon dioxide is essential to be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is with this in mind that the Technological Institute of Plastics (Aimplas) and the Technological Institute of Ceramics (ITC) are working on an ambitious project which benefits from the support of the Valencian Institute of Competitiveness and Innovation (IVACE+ i) through the European Regional Development Fund FEDER. The innovative initiative consists of designing and validating a CO capture system2 present in the combustion of the equipment that constitutes the ceramic manufacturing process.
According to professionals from ITC and Aimplas, this is an “important innovation” for the ceramics sector since, currently, there is no CO2 capture installation installed in this industry, whose players consider the need to focus on new technological advances that bring closer the achievement of the objectives of the European Green Deal for the year 2050. From this urgency arises the CUCO2 projecta prototype industrial gas pretreatment system and another hybrid capture system that combines membrane technology with vacuum adsorption (VPSA) to promote and maximize carbon dioxide accumulation.
Thus, the project of the REDIT technological institutes, supported by specialized companies such as BluePlasma Power, Laurentia Technologies, Keraben Grupo and EuroAtomizado Grupo, builds on the results obtained in CapturO2, a previous proposal that ended in 2023 where the characteristics of common gases emitted in the ceramic industrial processes and this has opened a hopeful path to ensure that this sector ceases to be the main emitter of CO2 in the Valencian Community.
Specifically, as its researchers explain, CUCO2 focuses on the processes of capturing CO2 emitted by suspended atomizers and ceramic tile firing kilns. In this way, this gives rise to the development of a hybrid system which will be used in parallel to analyze the type of membrane, the adsorbent material and the most appropriate operating conditions for trapping and separating carbon dioxide, in addition to studying the modifications necessary for its application in other industrial sectors such as waste gasification.
Image of the CUCO2 project
This is why Aimplas and ITC hope to obtain, during the execution of the project, a pretreatment and capture prototype validated on an industrial scale and adapted to the residual current of a tile baking oven and an atomizer. In addition, they hope to know its effectiveness, develop the ideal configuration for other sectors and valorize the CO2 captured via products used commercially such as fuels, solvents or polymers.
This project, which benefits from financial support from almost 200,000 euros of IVACE+i and European FEDER funds, is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption and SDG 13: Climate action, in addition to SDG 17: Alliances to achieve the Goals.
green hydrogen
At the same time, the Valencian Institute of Competitiveness and Innovation made public last March its support for new research carried out by ITC aimed at promoting the use of green hydrogen in manufacturing processes. manufacturing of ceramic parts this is where more than 60% of energy is consumed.
Through this project, the Castellón Research Center plans to study in the laboratory of its low-carbon pilot plant, how to apply green hydrogen in the manufacturing processes of ceramic parts and to analyze whether its use affects in any way the characteristics of the final product.
To achieve this, ITC is considering the use of disruptive technologies such as alternative fuels, CO2 capture and storage, and electrification of processes with energy generated by renewable sources. The initial objective set by the technological institute is to be able to obtain the electricity necessary to produce green hydrogen from its own photovoltaic panels, so that the electricity used is 100% renewable.
Image of the CUCO2 project
In 2022, according to data verified by the Ceramic Technology Institute, 90% of consumption in manufacturing processes was natural gas and 10% electricity, reaching 16,600 Gwh/year. Total verified carbon dioxide emissions were 2.4 tonnes of CO2, of which 93% came from the combustion of natural gas.
It should be added to this that in recent years, the amount of free CO2 emission rights allocated to companies in the sector has not been sufficient to cover the actual emissions emitted. There was an emissions deficit, which resulted in a an additional cost of several million euros for the companies concerned. Concretely, in 2021, the sectoral bill for purchasing emission rights was multiplied by 6, going from around 11 million euros in 2020 to 66 million euros in 2021.
