Life cycle assessment of implementation of an innovative solar thermal technology in Italian ceramic industry

Abstract

In recent years, the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, coupled with the European Union targets to increase the integration of renewable energy into the energy mix has prompted both industries and the scientific community to shift their focus towards alternative systems driven by sustainable energy sources. The imperative for renewable energies arises from the necessity to decrease dependency on fossil fuels, particularly to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions. The existing literature extensively documents how integrating renewable energy into industrial processes can help reduce environmental impact. The novelty of this study lies in the life cycle assessment (LCA) of ceramic sanitaryware production in Italy, specifically evaluating the use of thermal energy from a solar thermal system in the drying and firing processes, thereby reducing fossil fuel consumption. To this end, an LCA was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of replacing natural gas in the drying process with thermal energy from the SunDial solar thermal technology. The LCA methodology was applied to quantify the energy and environmental burdens of the system throughout its entire life cycle, including manufacturing, operation, and end-of-life stages. The functional unit is 1000 kg of sanitaryware production. Data was collected from the Ecoinvent database, and the assessment was performed using SimaPro software. The results indicate a 4 % reduction in global warming potential (GWP) due to the implementation of SunDial, which covers 20 % of the process’s energy demand. On a national scale, considering the entire Italian sanitaryware production, this translates into a savings of 180 tons of CO₂ emissions.