Currently Funded Project

Silicate ceramics are used in many different ways. Areas of application include wall and floor tiles, bricks and roof tiles, stoneware pipes, sanitary products and tableware as well as high-voltage insulators. In total, more than 160,000 people work in the silicate ceramics industry in Europe. They achieve an annual turnover of around 20 billion euros.

The production of silicate ceramics is an energy-intensive industry due to the thermal processes involved. The firing process has so far been carried out almost exclusively with fossil fuels.

In line with the objectives of the 7th Energy Research Program, the project aims to achieve significant energy savings in the production of silicate ceramics. Drying plays a particularly important role.

• Development of a methodology to significantly improve energy efficiency in the manufacture of silicate ceramic products
• Demonstration of the methodology using the example of roof tiles, which have a high overall energy saving potential due to the large quantities produced
• Reduction of the energy requirement by 20%
• Ensuring the transferability of the methodology and savings to other silicate ceramics and ceramic products
• Evaluation of alternative energy sources

• Systematic consideration of the production chain including the raw materials and the application behavior of the finished products in terms of the ICME
• Development of innovative measurement and simulation methods for the drying processes
• Energetic optimization of the overall process with the models for dehydration / debinding and sintering established at the HTL