CHARACTERISATION OF ACID POLLUTANT EMISSIONS IN CERAMIC TILE MANUFACTURE

An attempt was made to identify the significant gaseous pollutants of an acidic nature, to determine their concentrations, and to obtain the characteristic emission factors in spray dryers and firing kilns in the tile industry. The results showed that, in spray dryers, emission levels of the different acid pollutants were far below the current emission limit values applied in the European Union. In firing kilns, the most significant acid pollutant emissions, compared with the recommended EU emission limit values (ELV-BAT), correspond to HF and HCl emissions, indicating that these emissions need to be corrected by appropriate cleaning systems before such emissions are released into the air. However, SO2 and NOx emissions in the Castellon industrial ceramic sector lie below the ELV-BAT proposed in the European ceramic industry BREF, owing to the widespread use of natural gas as a fuel and of raw materials with reduced sulphur contents.