COOPERATIVA CERAMICA D'IMOLA'S P.S.V. PROJECT - LIFE05 ENV/IT/00875

Cooperativa Ceramica d’Imola’s Polishing Sludge Valorisation Project (P.S.V.) envisages the creation of an ecological process for valorisation of sludge deriving from the working of ceramic and related materials through mineralisation at a high temperature.

Preamble

Italian production statistics dating back to 2002 show that more than 1/5th (22%) of Grès porcelain undergoes polishing and ceramic work processes for a total of over 72 million sq. m. per year. Moreover, a 25% increase in treatments was envisaged for 2004, giving rise to an environmental problem also due to work processes carried out on natural stone which is usually polished and worked. National production involved no less than 210.000 tonnes of sludge from ceramic work processes deriving from glazes. At European level these figures must be tripled. So sludge resulting from polishing and working ceramic materials represent a huge mass of materials, potentially highly polluting, senselessly dumped in the environment. Considering the development of Gres porcelain (its production began no more than 10 years ago) the situation is taking on a dimension which is unsustainable for the territory.

Aims

Cooperativa Ceramica d’Imola’s Project Life05 ENV/IT/00875 P.S.V. envisages the creation of a demonstration plant for an ecological process for valorisation of sludge deriving from the processing of ceramic and related materials (marble, granite).

Thanks to the fine tuning of an innovative process of reactive sinterisation, this system overcomes the impossibility of using sludge deriving from the polishing and working of ceramic and related materials. The new process will in fact exploit the characteristics of the abrasives in the sludge, using them as expanding agents active at high temperatures.

Products of the Process

With this rapid ceramurgic process innovative materials for the construction industry and industrial installations will be obtained.

Advantages for the Environment

• Recovery and return to the environment of water used in the work processes and polishing of ceramic materials.
• Recovery and valorisation of raw and secondary materials currently stored in dumps.
• Zeroing of the environmental impact of the work processes and polishing of ceramic materials.
• Full recyclability of the new products.