Life

The project started as planned on 1 August 2014 and ended as planned on 31 January 2017.
The first months of the project were devoted to defining the management and monitoring aspects of the project itself. The hierarchical process for the attribution of responsibilities and the definition of decisions has been identified, creating a Steering Committee and a Monitoring Team that have followed the project throughout its journey to avoid wasting time and delays, as well as identifying and quickly overcome all the issues that have necessarily arisen.
Action B.1 has started regularly according to the programmed timings and already in the early stages of the project the sources of raw materials and second ones have been identified and in particular: silicon dusts deriving from metallurgical powders, glassy materials, glassware or ceramic pottery Contaminated, lime by filters and other foaming agents. Several suppliers have been identified, minimizing proximity to the proponents in order to contain polluting emissions associated with transport. A long series of tests allowed the identification of a basic glassy blend, low melting temperature (850 ° C), and three types of porousity agent: silicon carbide, calcium carbonate, and salt. The first two are expanding agents that are activated by temperature, the third is inserted into the dough and does not undergo any variation in firing but leaves the porosity when removed through a hot water bath.
Actions B.2 e B.3
The identified raw materials were then used for the following preparation tests: the mixture should in fact be ground to wet to allow for the granulometry suitable for forming the elements by means of one axial pressing, so it needs atomization before it can be handled in the form of dust. This phase was carried out through partnerships with companies outside the partnership. Once the powder is obtained, abrasive properties have been studied in order to predict the behavior of traditional molds and to increase their abrasion resistance. The pressing phase ,although it experienced through the use of a traditional axial uni press, It has been subjected to fine-tuning as far as the operating pressure is concerned: the mix of new raw materials has a radically different plasticity compared to traditional ceramic products and therefore has a very different behavior, containing very low amounts of clay. Therefore, they were obtained and perfectly replicated green products which were then subjected to surface decoration tests with different techniques: roller enamelling, bell, airbrush, digital printing. At the same time, the sample firing tests continued with a laboratory kiln and then pre-industrial tests were carried out. The sintering tests carried out with a small roller furnace made it possible to better monitor the process and the excellent results allowed them to perform such tests in the production kiln. The sintering tests carried out with a small roller furnace made it possible to better monitor the process and the excellent results allowed them to perform such tests in the production kiln. The actions were completed by obtaining samples containing 88.1% of waste material fired at 800 ° C for pressed samples and 850 ° C for non-pressed samples, an apparent density of between 0.4 and 1.2 g / Cm3, a thermal conductivity between 0.16 and 0.21 W / m K and a compression strength of at least 2.7 MPa.
Action B.4
The recycling process was carried out on non-pressed samples. First of all, the samples were subjected to dry milling in the laboratory in order to reuse the powder obtained in the formulations. Through an experimental plan that considered all the possible variables (milling time,% of weight of waste within the isothermal formulation and temperature), it was possible to evaluate the maximum recyclable content within the mixture. It was then decided to define the end-of-life procedures of the new products by carrying out the appropriate tests that at the end led to the identification of the best procedure. Subsequent tests have allowed the characterization of the products obtained through the recycling of the re-milled new materials. The realization of samples from recycled materials has been successful. Recycled samples can be used in formulations to create low-temperature ceramics characterized by low porosity and high apparent density.
Action B.5
Technically the project ended with the drafting of the LCA and the mass energy balance that they have confirmed. The simplified LCA study allowed the quantification of the impacts associated with the categories analysed and the identification of the most impacting contributions of the supply chains of the panel LIFE product. The results calculated using the ReCipe 2008 method highlighted that the main contributors are associated with the manufacturing phase, i.e. for the category Climate change the energy supply in the plant accounts for approx. 34% of impact due to heat and 18% due to electricity. Approx. 33% is attributable to emissions released during the process of firing. A comparison with the state of the art has also been performed and revealed that the panel presents significantly lower impacts then the material used for the comparison.

The project started on 01/10/2016 and is regularly terminated on 30/09/2019.
The first technical activities concerned the identification of different elements suitable to create the right mix of second raw materials, most of which are obtained from recycled waste, In order to obtain a composition that could be easily worked “in green” (that is, before the sintering phase of the article), in an environmentally friendly way and in such a way that “tolerant” the variability of these materials in terms of recycled dust and/or re-used plates (after further grinding).
After adequate characterization, all the selected waste materials were introduced in multiple ceramic formulations each having specific roles, uses and functions, also taking into consideration the "production" of the mixture, the dimensions of the production lots, the transport costs of the raw materials and second, the need to have an almost constant chemical composition, all to obtain the most efficient mixes from an environmental point of view. All this happened in the company laboratories, starting from the creation of the classic "buttons", that is small round-shaped tiles obtained with laboratory presses and sintered in a small electric static oven.
Repeated testing sessions have allowed to optimize these mixes and to hypothesize production parameters to be verified later on appropriate size.
Following the optimization of these mixtures (virgin raw materials and recycled materials) and the relative process parameters that allowed us to obtain ceramic products with at least 40% by weight of second life materials, suitable for belt pressing and green processing.
The particles obtained after atomization have correct spherical shape; the compound leaves correctly with maximum moisture content of 6% by drying process“spray”, has good smoothness (indispensable during compaction), characteristics comparable to the powders of virgin raw materials used today for the production of porcelain stoneware.
Prototypes of three different products have been developed for density, thermal expansion coefficient, colour and mechanical properties. All the types have been created by comparing the traditional composition of porcelain stoneware: this has allowed to make the new products absolutely comparable, for mechanical characteristics, with the traditional twins. This will allow a faster industrialization phase and a more immediate commercial launch.
Between the research of materials and the experimentation on products, there was an intense phase of development of the powder preparation processes, preparatory to all the subsequent project steps, until its conclusion. The blends identified were therefore subjected to conventional atomisation treatment, carried out by third party suppliers, which treated the dusts according to the specifications. The recycled material has been ground and spiked with clay, feldspar, quartz sand and talc, obtaining samples with high density and low water absorption, as required by the control protocols of porcelain stoneware, in the plant which is normally used for production.
Once the pre-preparation phase of raw materials was completed, the phase of plant modifications was initiated.
The plant for the storage and transport of spray atomized (characterized by a moisture content of about 5/6%) has been realized, consisting of storage silos, hoppers handling, sieves that eliminate any impurities, and dosing units at the beginning of the line.
The compaction process (belt pressing) was developed and the dust loading system and the "green" processing system (cut-to-measure raw, that is, before firing) was implemented. The press is carried out using the SACMI belt system already present in the valley floor plant (Continua+) where a carpet is made continuous thickness between 5 and 25 mm strong enough to be subjected to subsequent processing in "green". An innovative system for loading raw materials and pigments has been added upstream, able to decorate the product dry and in mass. This means that the new tile will be decorated in all its thickness (as for natural products), so that it can be polished several times after installation or installed with visible decoration on all sides (also vertical ones). In addition, the use of this technology makes it possible to avoid digital decoration, overcoming all the problems it entails. Downstream of the press belt, a raw cutting system has been developed which reduces the products to size before cooking, eliminating the use of water and grinding wheels and avoiding the formation of sludge typical of traditional plants: at the end of the process only a slight squaring will be necessary. The use of a special belt has allowed to obtain in press a surface sufficiently smooth to avoid lapping in matt products (also avoiding waste of water and abrasive and the formation of sludge).Only polishing will be necessary to obtain the mirror effect. This made it possible to avoid the introduction of the raw surface treatment station assumed at the beginning of the project. Dust extraction systems for dry cutting operations and the post-finishing compaction scrap recovery system were developed. A dust extraction system has been developed to recycle all the particle residues present in the plant, conveying them into the raw material recovery system.
The right drying curve for each product and the associated cooking curves has been identified: the humidity after pressing is 5/6% and should be increased to 1%, penalty breakage problems during sintering for instant evaporation of the water contained in the tile body. A number of product samples were produced which, also from a commercial point of view, were very positive.
The samples have been subjected to post-firing processing to verify the potential of the products: they have been subjected to light squaring and polishing with effects similar to traditional products.
The packaging system with low resources consumption for smaller products has been adapted.
For the slabs as they are, instead, we have realized ad hoc a very innovative system able to handle the slabs with anthropomorphic systems and store them on a reduced surface of 90% compared to the traditional systems. Finally, we have modified the system of transport from crates to reusable stands: all this has allowed us to greatly reduce the waste due to breaks and risks during transport. In addition, the stands have been designed so that we can be sent back for a prolonged re-use, all for the benefit of environmental and economic sustainability.
Finally, to crown all this work, semi-industrial tests were carried out on all the equipment, simultaneously making samples necessary for marketing and measures that allowed to elaborate the LCA study which highlighted the environmental potential of the project.
The advantages obtained and confirmed by the LCA study are:
➢ Recycling of all solid and liquid waste produced and therefore no external emissions. This corresponds to a reduction of 0.9 kg/m2 of cutting and polishing sludge on a dry basis which is now disposed in dumps and about 2.5 kg/m2 of fired waste (broken during the cutting of defective slabs).
➢ No use of water for cutting and finishing operations, now made in dry mode. The saving is about 1.57 m3 of water per m2 of product. The expected result was 0.8.
➢ Lower energy consumption: -32% (about 60 kWh/m2) calculated over the entire production cycle (50% considering only the cut and the surface finish).
➢ Use of recycled materials in the mix, up to a maximum of 40% by weight.
➢ Complete recyclability of finished products.
➢ Complete recyclability of the powders produced during dry processing, reinserted as they are in the process.
➢ Productivity of cutting operations and surface finishes increased by 28%. The improvement in performance is due to the lower resistance of the raw material and the elimination of part of the surface treatments.
➢ Significant reduction in costs, deriving from packaging, storage and handling operations.
➢ Reduction of CO2 emissions to the extent of 24 kg/m2.