Joint project agreed to supply systems for direct grinding/recovery of fired scraps from sanitaryware lines
A new step towards a circular economy has been taken thanks to a joint project between SACMI and Minerali Industriali Engineering. A recent technical/commercial agreement has been signed for the supply of fired scrap grinding lines for the sanitaryware industry.
With 100 years’ experience in the sector, Minerali Industriali Engineering develops well-known solutions in process engineering, raw material processing and systems to create a circular economy through specific know-how and technologies for various types of treatments.
In this case, the project concerns highly versatile system solutions (REC – Pitcher) which, with this type of application, make it possible to re-grind 100% of the fired scrap, and recycle it back into the production process (for example to replace the hard materials in the body such as quartzes and feldspars). This maximizes circularity and ensures a rapid return on investment as well as a significant reduction in the cost of waste disposal.
It also has an important impact in terms of quantity. For an average-sized company, if we consider 10-15% rejects leaving the kiln per 750 thousand pieces produced, the fired scrap actually corresponds to more than 6 tons a day of material to be disposed of, leading to the resulting economic and environmental costs.
According to the agreement, the new solution will become an integral part of SACMI’s range of products and will be proposed to customers on the basis of our extensive knowledge of the market and of each individual customer’s production plant and process. A win-win for both sides, the agreement also enables Minerali Industriali Engineering to propose the solution directly to its own customers, as and when required.
The project builds on the skills and know-how of two Italian companies renowned for excellence to supply concrete solutions for sustainability, with immediate and tangible advantages both for the environment and control of the production process. The aim is to support those environmentally-aware customers who have started or are starting to work towards Zero-Waste.
The various benefits include, not just a drastic decrease in waste to be disposed of (-85%) and a reduction in raw material requirements estimated at up to 12%, but also greater procurement flexibility. That’s because, with this solution, it is possible to process raw materials purchased in unground form and render them suitable, in terms of grain size, for the sanitaryware production process.