14 research outputs found
Environmental profile of Spanish porcelain stoneware tiles
Purpose
Porcelain stoneware tile (PST) iscurrently the ceram-
ic tile of greatest commercial and innovation interest. An envi-
ronmental life cycle assessment of different varieties of PST
was undertaken to enable hotspots to be identified, strategies
tobedefined,differencesbetweenPSTvarietiestobeevaluated
andguidanceforPSTmanufacturerstobeprovidedinchoosing
the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) programme that
best suited their needs according to grouping criteria.
Methods
Analysis of previous information allowed three
main parameters (thickness, glaze content and mechanical
treatment) to be identified in order to encompass all PST var-
iations. Fifteen varieties of PST were thus studied. The cover-
age of 1 m
2
of household floor surface with the different PST
varieties for 50 years was defined as functional unit. The study
sets out environmental data whose traceability was verified by
independent third parties for obtaining 14 EPDs of PST under
Spanish EPD programmes.
Results and discussion
The study presents PST inventory anal-
ysis and environmental impact over the entire life cycle of the
studied PST varieties. The natural gas consumed in the
manufacturing stage accounted for more than 70% abiotic deple-
tion
–
fossil fuels and global warming; electricity consumption
accounted for more than 60% ozo
ne layer depletion, while the
electricity generated by the cogeneration systems avoided signif-
icant environmental impacts in the Spanish power grid mix. The
variationsinPSTthickness,amountofglazeandmechanicaltreat-
ments were evaluated. The PST variety with the lowest environ-
mentalimpactwastheonewiththelowestthickness,wasunglazed
and had no mechanical treatments. Similarly, the PST variety with
the highest environmental impact was the one with the greatest
thickness, was glazed and had been mechanically treated.
Conclusions
The PST life cycle stage with the highest envi-
ronmental impact was the manufacturing stage. The main
hotspots found were production and consumption of energy
and raw materials extraction. Variation in thickness was a key
factor that proportionally influenced almost all studied impact
categories; the quantity of glaze strongly modified abiotic de-
pletion
–
elements and eutrophication, while the mechanical
treatments contributed mainly to ozone depletion. The study
of all PST varieties led to the important conclusion, against the
current trend, that differences among them were found to be so
significant that declaring a number of PSTs within the same
EPD is not directly possible, and it needs preliminary verifi-
cation to ensure compliance with the product category rule
Environmental development of the Spanish ceramic tile manufacturing sector over the period 1992–2007
The Spanish tile manufacturing sector has grown steadily over the years covered by the three benchmark studies, carried out
in 1992, 2001, and 2007, from which data are compared in this paper. In that period, production output doubled, although
since the last study was published, the situation has undergone a radical change and current production output stands at a
level similar to that of 1995.
Nevertheless, despite the world economic crisis, which has also severely impacted the ceramic wall and floor tile sector,
it is worth noting that the sector’s environmental parameters have demonstrated a constant and positive trend, both in
companies’ individual environmental performance and in the actual manufacturing processes itself. To a large extent, this
situation was forced upon the sector as it had to adapt to numerous environmental regulations, which in general terms call
for harsher and more stringent conditions than before. In this sense, the adoption of IPPC regulations, which affect practically
the entire ceramic tile sector, and the approval of EU Directive 2003/87 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission
allowance trading were significant factor
How can the European ceramic tile industry meet the EU's low-carbon targets? A life cycle perspective
Ceramic tile manufacturing is deemed to be an energy intensive industry, mainly based on combustion processes and, therefore, subject to European policies aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050”, approved by the European Commission, calls for sectoral strategies to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020 and by 83–87% by 2050, compared to 1990 CO2 emissions. This study included up to 17 technological alternatives and their combination, resulting in 25 technological scenarios associated to the life cycle of porcelain stoneware tiles. In this regard, a high parametrized LCA model was developed to allow for the required flexibility. The scenario analysis can be used: a) to estimate the degree of technological innovation required; b) to define and to focus strategies and; c) to devise the lines of technological development that need to be implemented in the ceramic tile manufacturing sector in the coming years. The alternatives consisted of endogenous and exogenous sectoral technologies. The technologic alternatives involved changes in product design (thickness and decoration), changes in the manufacturing process (preparation of raw material by dry or wet route, and simultaneous implementation of thermal energy efficiency techniques), and changes in the energy sources (hybrid and/or electric driers, and kilns and decarbonization of the power grid mix). It was clearly proven that the wider the scope of the Life Cycle Assessment study is, the greater eco-innovations are necessary. In all the studied scenarios, the manufacturing stage was always the most significant from the global warming point of view. Finally, regarding the achievability of EU objectives, the results of this study show that the implementation of widespread technologies suffice for fulfilling 2020 targets; nevertheless, only some limited combinations of both widespread and ambitious breakthrough technologies may achieve the 2050 reduction targets
Estimación de la huella hídrica de baldosas de gres porcelánico esmaltado
Resumen de la Presentació oral presentada al LIII Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Cerámica y Vidrio (SECV) y XII Congreso del Técnico Cerámico (ATC), celebrat a l'Escola Española de Cerámica y Vidrio, Alcora (Castellón) del 23 al 25 d'octubre de 2013.En este trabajo se presenta un primer estudio de la estimación de la huella
hídrica de las baldosas de gres porcelánico esmaltado, realizado a partir de
datos sectoriales, es decir, no es un estudio específico de ninguna empresa en
particular y con el soporte de bases de datos de ACV (concretamente PE
International, ILCD)
Strategic environmental communication tools
Ponència presentada a QUALICER'14, XIII Congreso Mundial de la Calidad del Azulejo y del Pavimento Cerámico, celebrat a Castelló, 17-18 febrer 2014The Instituto de Tecnología Cerámica (ITC), pursuing its programme of actions aimed at transferring knowledge to the ceramic industry, presents the following work to facilitate the entry of ceramic coverings to markets demanding sustainable or green products and to national and international sustainable building certification programmes.
At present, for the industry in general and for the ceramic industry in particular, companies seeking to respond to green market demands face serious difficulties owing to the vast number of existing certificates, ecolabellings, and eco-features, which adversely affect the decision-taking process in this sense.
In this context, ITC has focused on developing, adapting, and fine-tuning a series of the most demanded eco-features, currently deemed the most complete for ceramic coverings
An Innovative Ceramic Floor for Resilient Cities: LIFE CERSUDS
LIFE CERSUDS is a project carried out over the period 2016-2019 whom the main objective was to improve the ability of cities to adapt to climate change by promoting the use of green infrastructures in the renewal of urban environments. Under the project, an innovative permeable urban pavement (hereinafter, CERSUDS) was designed using ceramic tile stock of low commercial value. This pavement solution was tested in a demonstrator in the town of Benicí ssim.
The main objective of the project was to improve the ability of cities to adapt to climate change by promoting the use of green infrastructures in the renewal of urban environments. Under the project, a Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) was built as a demonstrator in the town of Benicí ssim, using ceramic tile stock of low commercial value to manufacture an innovative permeable floor (hereinafter, CERSUDS flooring), a subject already dealt with in an earlier presentation at this congress .
Once the demonstrator had been built, a monitoring period was run between August 2018 and July 2019, which enabled both the CERSUDS floor and the demonstrator's value as a rainwater management system to be validated.
This article presents the design process of the ceramic permeable pavement including the main results of the tests carried in the laboratory and the main results of the project relate to: environmental and economic assessment of the CERSUDS system, user's validation of the system, monitoring of the system's mechanical performance and permeability, and monitoring of the demonstrator's hydraulic response in terms of the quantity and quality of run-off water
Impactos ambientales del ciclo de vida de las baldosas cerámicas: análisis sectorial, identificación de estrategias de mejora y comunicación (I)
El artículo analiza el impacto ambiental que generan las baldosas cerámicas mediante el Análisis de
Ciclo de Vida (AC) a nivel sectorial en el que participaron más de 50 empresas españolas.
Los resultados han servido para la redacción de las Reglas de Categoría de Producto (RCP) para los
recubrimientos de materiales cerámicos, necesarias para la edición de Declaraciones Ambientales
de Producto. (Debido a la extensión del artículo recogeremos en esta edición la primera parte,
correspondiente a la definición de objetivos y alcance del estudio y el análisis del inventario. La segunda
parte, que consta de la evaluación de impactos e interpretación, la identificación de estrategias de mejora, la comunicación ambiental y las conclusiones se publicarán en el número 236 de Piscinas XXI).The article analyses the environmental impact of ceramic tiles by means of a sector-level Life
Cycle Analysis (LCA) involving over 50 Spanish firms. The findings were then used to draw
up the Product Category Rules (PCR) for ceramic coverings, which are needed to be able to
issue Environmental Product Declarations. (Due to the length of the paper, in this edition we
will include only the first part, which covers the definition of the aims and scope of the study,
as well as the inventory analysis. The second part, which comprises the evaluation of the
impacts and interpretation, the identification of the improvement strategies, environmental
communication and the conclusions, will be published in issue 236 of Piscinas XXI.
Innovation and ecodesign in ceramic industry: an overview of knowledge needs in Portugal, Spain and Greec
Estrategias del ciclo de vida en el sector cerámico
En este trabajo, se han identificado tres retos ambientales que, a juicio de la doctoranda, serán determinantes para la estabilidad del sector de las baldosas cerámicas en Europa, si no se abordan estrategias adecuadas. Concretamente, los retos identificados son: i) comunicar de forma eficiente las características ambientales de las baldosas; ii) obtener argumentos ambientales para aumentar su competitividad; iii) establecer medidas para mitigar el cambio climático.
Con el fin de acometer cada uno de estos retos, se han definido estrategias y desarrollado herramientas relacionadas el ciclo de vida de las baldosas cerámicos.
Se ha confirmado que es posible aplicar estudios de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida en el sector de las baldosas cerámicas para abordar los citados retos mediante la evaluación de tendencias y prospecciones legislativas, tecnológicas y de innovación. Además, las herramientas se han puesto al alcance de las empresas para que puedan analizar su posicionamiento y autoevaluarse frente a los diferentes retos expuestos.In this work, three environmental challenges have been identified which, in the doctoral candidate's opinion, will be decisive for the stability of the ceramic tile sector in Europe if adequate strategies are not addressed. Specifically, the challenges identified are: i) to efficiently communicate the environmental characteristics of tiles; ii) to gather some environmental arguments to increase their competitiveness; iii) to establish measures to mitigate climate change.
In order to address each of these challenges, strategies have been defined and tools have been developed relating to the life cycle of ceramic tiles.
It is confirmed that it is possible to apply Life Cycle Assessment in the ceramic tile sector to tackle the aforementioned challenges through the evaluation of legislative, technological and innovation trends and prospects in a rigorous, representative and consistent manner. Moreover, the developed tools have
In addition, the tools have been made available to companies so that they can analyse their positioning and assess their products in the face of the different challenges exposed.Programa de Doctorat en Tecnologies Industrials i Material
Environmental comparison of indoor floor coverings
Appropriate selection of construction materials plays a major role in a building's sustainable profile. The studysets out a comparative life cycle assessment of indoorflooring systems of different nature. Theflooring systemsconsisted of coverings and, where required, bonding material and/or impact soundproofing material. The follow-ing coverings were assessed: inorganic (natural stone and ceramic tiles), polymer (carpeting and PVC), andwood-based (laminate and parquet) coverings. The life cycle assessment scope was defined cradle to cradle,i.e. product stage, transport to the construction site, installation of all construction elements, use, and valorisationby recycling, as end-of-life transition scenario towards a circular economy. In the use stage, three scenarios weredefined as a function of pedestrian traffic intensity, which determined maintenance, repair, and replacement op-erations and frequencies. The environmental impacts of the coverings product stage were taken from previouslyassessed and selected Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), as these are standardised public documentsdevised to provide environmental life cycle information. The method adopted in the study suggests that, thoughthe use of EPDs as information source is interesting, erroneous conclusions may be drawn if the EPDs are notcomparable and/or if the comparison is not made in the building context. The results indicate that the flooring ystems with inorganic coverings performed best in the global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photo-chemical ozone creation, and abiotic depletion for fossil resources impact categories, whereas laminates per-formed best in the abiotic depletion for non-fossil resources and ozone layer depletion impact categories. Thecarpetflooringsystem performedworst inevery impact category except photochemicalozone creation potential