A comprehensive proposal for the Sanitaryware industry from SACMI’s network of companies to achieve total circularity, energy and raw material recovery, reduction in consumption and a healthy workplace.
Total circularity, recycling of raw materials, water and energy recovery, reduction of consumption. These are the key goals of the rECOvery solutions that the SACMI Sanitaryware Business Unit has developed together with the Energy and Environment Division of SACMI Forni & Filter as part of the «We ARE Environment» proposal.
Developed on the basis of a real-life scenario – an “average-sized” sanitaryware factory with an output of 750,000 pieces per year and diversified production mix – our rECOvery solutions have evolved from in-depth analysis to evaluate and quantify the kind of recycling that can be applied, and the relevant technologies available, to provide immediate and measurable economic and environmental advantages for the customer.
The first solution offered is recovery of fired scrap during production, with new grinding lines which enable almost total recycling of the scrap, reducing consumption of virgin raw materials by more than 10%. Secondly, we propose the installation of dedusting systems – which has a positive effect both on machine operations and on creating a healthy working environment – as well as filters for the raw material preparation and dosing departments. Other solutions include retrieval of residue from finishing and glazing operations (by, for example, recovering 100% of glaze overspray).
Of particular importance, given its wide use in the process, is the treatment of waste water, with a large range of systems proposed (including tangential filtering and the new membrane ultrafiltration, both SACMI-patented). These systems do not require the use of chemical additives, thus maximizing the quantity of water and premium raw materials which can be re-used in the process, as well as reducing water and wastewater consumption by as much as 80%.
Finally, the new solutions promise a decrease in consumption and emissions during the heat treatment stage, thanks to EMS (Energy Management Systems) integrated with the range of Riedhammer tunnel kilns, heat exchangers for flue exhaust fumes, and new drying systems that utilize the kiln’s residual heat. This all translates into energy savings for the factory that can reach up to 25%.
All the solutions can be individually assessed and customized, case-by-case, according to the specific production setup and requirements of the customer in order to properly evaluate achievable savings and return on investment timelines.