The ceramic tile industry consumes considerable amounts of energy along its value chain, from mining activities, transport of materials to the processing plants, processing of those materials for tile production, the tile production process and storage and the delivery of the tiles once packaged. The last century saw three radical transitions from traditional biomass to hydrocarbon resources, first to fuel mid-century and then to natural gas in the 1980s. Although fuel and electricity are consumed in the sector, the main energy used currently is natural gas. However, there is an awareness of the environmental challenges facing the ceramic tile industry in the coming years, especially those related to energy and emissions (Monfort et al., 2014), and the potential of its innovation system, through environmental innovation, to generate and adapt technologies and improve production techniques (Gabaldón-Estevan et al., 2014). Therefore, in the present paper we present a socio-technical study on the viability of the incorporation of biofuels in the energy mix of the Spanish ceramic industry. The objectives of this paper are to (1) identify and evaluate potential new uses of biomass in manufacturing process of ceramic products; (2) calculate the reduced environmental impact from the manufacture ceramic materials through a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions; (3) estimate the effects on rural development and job creation can bring the best use of resources and reduction of forest, agricultural and/or other debris, and (4) characterize the institutional framework and current socio-economic environment for the implementation of biomass as an energy source, on an industrial scale in the ceramic industry.

1. Can the ceramic tile industry
become greener?
Viability analysis for the introduction of biomass in the
industry energy mix
D. Gabaldón-Estevan, A. Mezquita, D. Alfonso
Daniel Gabaldón-Estevan | Chicago 22/04/2015
Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social
Sciences,
University of Valencia- Valencia (ES) - daniel.gabaldon@uv.es

2. Index0.
Introduction and motivation1.
Theoretical framework2.
Methods3.
Results4.
Discussion5.
ESTIBMEIC Project - GV/2014/049
Socio-Technical Study on the Incorporation of
Biofuels in the Energy Mix Ceramic Industry
Project financed by:

3. 3
Nitrogen
(agriculture)
Biodiversity
(urbanization,
agriculture)
Introduction: Ecological crisis: beyond the boundaries
[Rockstrom et al., 2009. A safe operating space for humanity. Nature. 461, 472-475]
1.a

4. Environmental issues challenging the development of the ceramic tile industry
[Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Criado, E.; Monfort, E. (2014) The Green Factor in European Manufacturing: A case study
of the Spanish ceramic tile industry. Journal of Cleaner Production 70, 242-250 ]
1.b

5. Environmental issues challenging the development of the ceramic tile industry
[Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Criado, E.; Monfort, E. (2014) The Green Factor in European Manufacturing: A case study
of the Spanish ceramic tile industry. Journal of Cleaner Production 70, 242-250 ]
1.c
Energy
consumption
- Tile industry is a big energy consumer (gas & electric).
- Transition from oil to gas in the 80’s & new kilns reduced
firing times from 35-45 hours to 35-70 minutes.
- Atomisers have cogeneration (total efficiency to 85-90%)
so further reductions in of carbon dioxide (CO2) and
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions more difficult.
Pollution
- Tile industry has done progress in substituting most of
the hazardous elements that characterised
production in the early industrialisation years.
However there are still areas for improvement:
- Further reduce carbon dioxide (CO2).
- Deal with elements as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), boron (B),
sulphur (S), sulphur dioxide (SO2), or fluorine (F).
- And dust pollution, specially suspended particles due to
transportation.

6. What about this challenge?
6
A return to biomass?
[ESTIBMEIC GV/2014/049 Socio-Technical Study on the Incorporation of Biofuels in the Energy Mix Ceramic Industry]
1.d

7. Peer-Effects in industrial agglomeration (Italy)
[Istituto per la Promozione Industriale 2002, (based on ISTAT)]
2.a

8. Peer-Effects in industrial agglomerations (Spain)
[El mapa dels districtes industrials d’España Conference by Joan Trullén, Castellón 28/06/2005]
2.b

9. 5.
Evolutionary
economics
FilièreLearning
(know how, learning by
doing)
Knowledge
networks
Institutional
framework
Innovation
system
District
Innovation
System
Productive
specialization
District effect
economies
Community &
feeling of
belonging
Interrelation &
proximity
Theoretical framework: Applying the systemic approach to industrial districts
[Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Fernández de Lucio, I. and Molina Morales, FX. (2012) Distritual Innovation Systems.
ARBOR-Ciencia pensamiento y cultura, 188 (753), pp. 63-73 ]
2.c

10. Population of companies centred on a productive activity (Bellandi, 2006; Coro & Micelli, 2007)
Human resources available and specialized (Sforzi, 2006; Sabel, 1982)
Tension and dynamism at the aglomeration (Brusco, 1990; Dei Ottati, 1994)
Easiness of both technological change and credit (Pyke y Sengenberger, 1992; Brusco, 1994)
[…] “socioterritorial entity characterised by the
active presence of both a community of people and
a group of companies on a natural and historically
determined area .
At the district […] the community and the companies
tend to melt together”.
(Becattini, 1992, pp. 62-63).
Marshallian Industrial district
Cluster
Industrial district
(Marshall, 1890)
(Becattini, 1979, 1986, 1992)
Feeling of
belonging
Concentration &
specialization
Competence &
cooperation
Difficulties of
appropriation
External
economies
Theoretical framework: The influence of proximity on companies performance
[Gabaldón-Estevan, D. (2011) El sistema distritual de innovación cerámico de Castellón. Universitat de València.
Servei de Publicacions]
2.d

11. […] “all important economic, social, political,
organizational, institutional and other factors that
influence the development, diffusion and use of
innovations” (Edquist, 2004, pp. 182)
Sectoral system
of innovation
Technological systems
(Breschi and Malerba, 1997;
Malerba, 2002)
(Carlsson and Stankiewitz, 1995;
Huges, 1984; Callon, 1992)
Knowledge Heterogeneity InstitutionsLearning Interrelations
National system
of innovation
Regional system
of innovation
(Freeman, 1987;
Lundvall, 1988, 1992; Nelson, 1993)
(Cooke, 1993 and 2001;
Saxenian, 1985; Jaffe et al., 1993)
Evolutionist
perspective
(Nelson and Winter, 1977 and 1982)
Functional approach
(Bergek et al., 2008;
Jacobsson and Johnson, 2000;
Edquist, 1997)
District
Innovation system
(Gabaldon-Estevan et al., 2011)
Theoretical framework: Innovation is a collective and an interactive process
[Gabaldón-Estevan, D. (2011) El sistema distritual de innovación cerámico de Castellón. Universitat de València.
Servei de Publicacions
2.e

12. Legal and institutional framework
Technological and
advanced services
provider environment
Productive environment
Scientific environment
Method: identifying niches in which to stimulate further experiments and
processes of experimentation that would contribute to lead the transition to a
hypocarbon economy
3.
Adapted from Fernández et al. (1996)

13. 9,3 %
90 ,3 %
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Thermal energy consumption Electricity energy consumption
Energyconsumption(kWh/m
2
)
13
Results: Energy consumption of the Spanish tile industry (2011)4.a

14. 14
Results: Thermal specific consumption (KWh/m2) by sub process (2007)4.b

15. 15
Results: CO2 emissions (kg CO2/t fired product) (2008)4.c

16. Results: Identification of the target processes
[Schematic illustration of the single-fired ceramic tile manufacturing process. Source ITC]
4.d
Raw materials
Milling
Spray drying
Glaze
preparation
Pressing Drying Glazing Firing
Floor tile
Wall tile
Raw materials
Milling
Spray drying
Glaze
preparation
Pressing Drying Glazing Firing
Floor tile
Wall tile
Most common ceramic tile manufacturing process in Europe
(single-firing)
Thermal
energy

17. Results: Identification of biomass potential
[Tumuluru, J. S., Sokhansanj, S., Wright, C. T., Boardman, R. D., & Yancey, N. A. (2011, August). A review on
biomass classification and composition, co-firing issues and pretreatment methods. In Proceedings of the 2011
ASABE annual international meeting. Louisville, Kentucky, USA (pp. 7-10).]
4.d
Areas of
influence
Biomass
sources
&
- Agricultural residues
- Dedicated energy crops
- Forestry
- Industry
- Parks and Gardens
- Waste
- Other (Roadside hay, Husks/Shells)

18. o The scientific community, UE, and other agents agree on demanding
big changes on development strategies in order to reconfigure our
societies according to sustainability;
o Limits to economic growth should be approached globally (think
global, act at local/regional/national/sectorial or distritual)
o To achieve sustainability, far-reaching changes along different
dimensions (technological, material, organisational, institutional,
political economic and socio-cultural) have to occur, and an holistic
approach that involve all agents is needed;
o We assume that district innovation systems can be conceived as
complex systems where their social, economic, political, cultural,
physical and environmental dimensions can be analysed as
innovation systems the performance of which can be analysed and
where changes can be elicited.
Discussion5.a

19. Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Mezquita, A.; Ferrer, S.: Monfort, E. (2014) Is European Union Environmental Policy Efficient at
Promoting a Post-carbon Industry? The Case of Energy in the European Ceramic Tile Sector. Proceedings of the 11th ICIM
2014, Vaasa (Finland) 104-113 http://icim.vamk.fi/2014/uploads/UploadPaperDir/11thICIM2014.pdf
Mezquita, A.; Monfort, E.;Vaquer, E.; Ferrer, S.; Pitarch, J.M.; Arnal, M.A.; Cobo, F. (2014) Reduction of CO2-emissions in
ceramic tiles manufacture by combining energy-saving measures. Cfi Ber. DKG 85, 91 (5) pp. E37-E42.
Monfort, E.; Mezquita, A.; Vaquer, E.; Gabaldón-Estevan, D. (2014) La evolución energética del sector español de baldosas
cerámicas Bol. Soc. Esp. Ceram. V. 53 (3) 111-120
http://boletines.secv.es/upload/2014070792201.201453111.pdf
Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Criado, E.; Monfort, E. (2014) The Green Factor in European Manufacturing: A case study of the
Spanish ceramic tile industry. Journal of Cleaner Production 70, 242-250
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652614001620
Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Hekkert M.P. (2013) How Does the Innovation System in the Spanish Tile Sector Function? Bol. Soc.
Esp. Ceram. V. 52 (3) 151-158 http://ceramicayvidrio.revistas.csic.es/index.php/ceramicayvidrio/article/download/1205/1239
Gabaldón-Estevan, D.; Fernández de Lucio, I. and Molina Morales, FX. (2012) Distritual Innovation Systems. ARBOR-
Ciencia pensamiento y cultura, 188 (753), pp. 63-73 http://arbor.revistas.csic.es/index.php/arbor/article/download/1448/1457
Gabaldón-Estevan, D. (2011) El sistema distritual de innovación cerámico de Castellón. Universitat de València. Servei de
Publicacions. http://rodrigo.uv.es/bitstream/handle/10550/23431/gabaldon.pdf?sequence=1
Monfort, E.; Mezquita, A.; Granel, R.; Vaquer, E.; Escrig, A.; Miralles, A.; Zaera, V. (2010) Analysis of energy consumption
and carbon dioxide emissions in ceramic tile manufacture Bol. Soc. Esp. Ceram. V. 49 (4) pp. 303-310
http://boletines.secv.es/upload/20100901173134.201049303.pdf
Mezquita, A.; Monfort, E.; Zaera, V. (2009) Sector azulejero y comercio de emisiones: reducción de emisiones de CO2,
benchmarking europeo. Bol. Soc. Esp. Ceram. V. 48(4) pp. 211-222
http://boletines.secv.es/upload/20090904100231.200948211.pdf
Tortajada Esparza, E.; Gabaldón-Estevan, D. and Fernández de Lucio I. (2008) La evolución tecnológica del distrito
cerámico de Castellón: la contribución de la industria de fritas, colores y esmaltes. Bol. Soc. Esp. Ceram. V. 47 (2) pp. 57-
80 http://boletines.secv.es/upload/20080512114901.47[2]57-80.pdf
Some of our references5.b

20. Thank you for your attention!!!
Daniel Gabaldón-Estevan | Chicago 22/04/2014
Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social
Sciences,
University of Valencia- Valencia (ES) - daniel.gabaldon@uv.es
https://uv.academia.edu/DanielGabald%C3%B3nEstevan
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel_Gabaldon-Estevan
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-gabad%C3%B3n-estevan/23/722/aaa
http://www.slideshare.net/DanielGabaldnEstevan
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2086-5012
http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-5195-2011
Epilog:
The end5.b