UK Ceramics Industry & Emissions
Ceramics have been produced in the UK for many centuries.
The fundamentals of production - shaping clays, followed by drying/firing and decorating - largely remain the same, but manufacturing has continually evolved.
Key stages in the industry’s decarbonisation have been:
Consolidation: Fewer factories as companies (and sites) have merged.
Efficiency: More efficient production, with advancements such as in kiln linings (ceramic refractories!), burners, kiln cars and adoption of heat recovery to capture/re-use waste heat.
Fuel-Switching: Around 1950s-1980s there was a switch-over from using solid fuels (mainly coal) for firing, to natural gas (the most carbon-efficient fuel readily available to support production at present).
The principal challenges for ceramic decarbonisation are around:
Dispersed … many near raw materials, in all corners of UK, not in industrial cluster areas. Sites are unable to relocate given their local supply chains, long-life production assets and skilled employees.
Many Sites/SMEs … ¾ of businesses in the sector are small-medium sized businesses, accounting for ~ 10% of UK ceramics’ greenhouse gas emissions.
Small & Dilute Emissions … compared to other energy-intensive industries (both individually / collectively).
Diverse … in the breadth of products made, to methods and scale production (ranging from gram-level to hundreds of thousands of tonnes annual production at sites).
Process Emissions … ~ 1/3rd of total carbon emissions, a result of firing raw materials (predominantly clays) releasing inherent carbon content. There is currently no viable technological solution to abate process emissions in totality.