Due to their high energy intensity due to high temperature processes, the ceramics and glass industries, which depend substantially on fossil fuels, are under high pressure to contribute to significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
Both sectors have already started on the decarbonization path, with hydrogen emerging as one of the most important avenues, with the Ceramics and Glass Technology Center (CTCV) developing studies and testing the viability of this technology, within the scope of the Mobilizing Agendas of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP).
Now, “on July 31, the CTCV Hypocarbon Laboratory team carried out the first firing tests on ceramic products, with mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas”, reveals this technological center, based in Coimbra, in a note sent to Negócios.
This is a pioneering study for the national ceramics industry, driven by the need to monitor and propose solutions aimed at the energy transition and carbon neutrality of this industry.
“The first results are promising and the adoption of this energy source is meeting expectations”, says CTCV, adding that “more tests will be carried out in the future with variable mixtures of energy sources”.
With the enormous challenge of decarbonization facing energy-intensive industries, the introduction of renewable gases, such as green hydrogen, is a disruptive approach to the current energy matrix of these industries, and “these tests will allow testing, on a laboratory scale, the use of renewable energies so that the industry can minimize risks in the future when making technological investments with a view to decarbonization”, explains the same institution.
For CTCV, this “is an important step towards the goal of making this industry more sustainable, exploring energy alternatives that reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the decarbonization of the sector”, highlighting that “the results of these tests will be evaluated comparatively with those obtained using only natural gas and electricity”.
“Several dimensions of the cooking process are being analyzed, such as the technical characteristics of the products, namely the quality, durability and appearance of the final products; energy efficiency, such as measurement and comparative evaluation of energy consumption during the cooking process; and associated gas emissions, such as analysis of carbon emissions and other pollutants resulting from the combustion process (natural gas and mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas)”, explains the CTCV.
The tests are taking place in a hybrid furnace (gas and electricity), developed and installed in the CTCV Hypocarbon Laboratory, with the support of the companies Induzir – Efficiency in Firing (based in Batalha) and PRF – Gas Solutions (from Leiria) in the development and installation of the gas mixing system.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
