Luara Ceramic Fuel Switching Project, Brazil

Carbon offset funds enabled the ceramic plant to switch from using local native firewood to using biomass to heat the plant’s kilns and cook its ceramic materials. Complete substitution of unsustainably harvested wood with waste biomass as fuel for the kilns reduced annual operating emissions by approximately 10,000 tCO₂e relative to the baseline.

HOW IT WORKS
The ceramic production process works by using mechanical burners to automatically inject biomass with air inside the kilns. The heat produced from this process then cooks the ceramic materials. Biomass, such as sawdust, sugar cane bagasse, wood chips, coconut husk and bamboo is put to effective use instead of being discarded to anaerobically decay in local landfills, where it would normally emit significant levels of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

WHY THIS PROJECT WAS CHOSEN
Without offset funds, the financial payback for this installation would not have been viable and the ceramic plant would have continued to use a conventional wood heating system. The installation is not common practice and yields savings in GHG emissions from standard practice. This project also prevented the use of native wood as fuel and contributed to solving the larger problem related to the deforestation of the local forest.

OTHER BENEFITS OF THE INSTALLATION
Beyond the direct climate benefits, this installation helps to increase job opportunities in the local community and contributes directly to the conservation of the local forest through the use of renewable biomass. We believe that this project diversifies and improves sources for thermal energy generation and, by using clean and efficient technologies, promotes the preservation of natural resources in Brazil. This project acts as a pioneer in demonstrating the viability of innovative technology practices in the ceramic sector.