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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Simulation-based characterization of alginate aerogel packed bed compaction via DEM-BPM(Elsevier, 2025-04); ; ; ; The global demand for aerogels is constantly growing, thus, optimizing and scaling up the production processes have become increasingly important in the last decade. The utilization of millimeter-sized aerogel particles for such purposes is typically preferred due to inherent advantages in handling and production compared to other geometries. The production of these particles is most commonly accomplished using a particle packed bed (autoclave). This process presents, however, several challenges, including the impact of mechanical loads on the quality of the product. Therefore, this work focuses on deepening the understanding of mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms of aerogel particles in packed beds under uniaxial compaction. The investigated alginate aerogel particles are characterized by a spherical shape (circularity of 0.96), a specific surface area of ~352 m2/g, an average diameter of ~3.3 mm, and a bulk density of ~0.05 g/cm3. In addition, this study extends a DEM-BPM model to capture the mechanical deformation of biopolymer aerogels, both as individual particles and within packed beds. The simulations were calibrated and validated using experimental data from uniaxial compaction tests. An optimization methodology was implemented to reduce reliance on traditional trial-and- error methods and improve the model’s accuracy. The results demonstrate that the proposed DEM-BPM model effectively replicates the mechanical behavior of alginate aerogels, showing strong agreement between experi- mental data and minimal deviations for both single particles and packed beds (R2≥ 0.93). This model serves as a promising tool for gaining deeper insights into the mechanical properties of aerogels and improving production efficiency. Additionally, the DEM-BPM model can be expanded to incorporate intermediate products, such as hydrogels and alcogels, enabling process optimization at every stage of aerogel manufacturing.Publicationtype: Journal Article50 29 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Challenges and opportunities for increase sustainability and energy efficiency in ceramic tile industry(Wiley, 2025); ; The ceramic tile has an estimated global warming potential of 14.4 kg CO2 equivalent per square meter, with CO2 emissions contributing to approximately 92.1% of the overall impact. The total emissions amount to 19 million tons of CO2 annually, representing approximately 1% of Europe's industrial emissions that are regulated by the EU Emissions Trading System. As a result, the ceramic industry is under growing pressure to decrease carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency in accordance with Europe's new climate and energy objectives. However, this process holds a clear challenge. This work addresses the challenges and opportunities facing the ceramic tile industry in reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency in line with new climate and energy goals worldwide. It highlights the importance of adopting innovative strategies across product, process efficiency, and market and supply chain aspects.Publicationtype: Review Article20 70 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Phenomenological model of moisture redistribution in porcelain stoneware spray-dried powder stored in silo(Elsevier, 2024-07-10); ; 50 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Optimizing raw material composition to increase sustainability in porcelain tile production: A simulation-based approach(Wiley, 2024-04); ; ; ; Reducing the environmental impact of porcelain tile production while maintaining cost-effectiveness is challenging. This work introduced a novel modeling approach for optimizing a standard composition range comprising kaolinite (15–38 wt.%), illite (0–20 wt.%), quartz (20–40 wt.%), and feldspar (20–45 wt.%) to establish a robust composition interval for porcelain stoneware tiles. The proposed study considers several factors, such as composition impact on the manufacturing sequence, production costs, and CO2 emission. A flowsheet simulation database was generated by coupling the Dyssol framework with MATLAB. This study investigated the influence of raw material composition within the process sequence, the total CO2 emissions, and production costs within the contexts of Spain and Brazil, two of the top five global producers. Granules with a higher proportion of talc and illite exhibit reduced moisture content after spray drying, and these combinations have lower green body porosity after compaction. The addition of talc allowed for decreased porosity content after compaction reduced firing temperature, and lowered costs and CO2 emissions despite the higher prices associated with talc. The proposed simulation methodology offers a powerful decision-making tool for optimizing raw material composition to minimize cost and CO2 emissions in the porcelain tile production. This methodology represents an early stride toward integrating digital twin methodologies within the ceramic tile sector, facilitating improved process regulation, and promoting the adoption of digital technologies.Publicationtype: Journal Article28 148 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Improving the analysis of heat transfer in packed beds : a comparative study between DEM simulations and existing literature models(2024-03-01); The heat transfer within particle beds is of significant importance in various industrial applications; however, its comprehension remains limited. The investigation of packed beds involves employing the use of effective thermal conductivity, a widely employed approach that is constrained by the need for extensive experimental work and the presence of heterogeneities. Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations are widely recognized as a valuable tool for enhancing comprehension of complex systems. Nevertheless, the extensive computational time required for these simulations poses a significant limitation on their widespread implementation. The present study encompassed the integration of particle-particle and particle-wall heat transfer models into the MUSEN framework. The models were employed to simulate scenarios involving stationary packed particle beds. The proposed models were validated by data obtained from existing literature. A favorable agreement was achieved for all examined instances, with notable reductions in simulation times, comparable to those observed in simulations employing the continuum approach. The simulations were compared with established models in the literature, and the simulations exhibited higher accuracy in predicting experimental values. This highlights the potential of the proposed methodology to be utilized in heat transfer analysis while maintaining efficient simulation times, without the need for continuum approach simulations, and providing additional understanding of the underlying micro mechanisms.Publicationtype: Journal Article11 37 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Integrated process simulation applied to the optimization of porcelain tile manufacturingPublicationtype: Doctoral Thesis37 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Moisture sorption isotherm and effective diffusion coefficient of porcelain stoneware spray-dried powder(Elsevier, 2023-12-01); ; 13 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Microscale DEM simulation of spray-dried porcelain granules under uniaxial compaction(Elsevier, 2023-10-01); ; ; ; The microscale modeling of spray-dried granules for porcelain tile manufacturing with different moisture contents under uniaxial compaction is investigated in this paper. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) and the Bonded Particle Model (BPM) were applied for the investigation. To describe the mechanical behavior of granules during compression, an elastic-plastic bonded model was implemented, in which the moisture content is linked to the properties of the bonds. A good agreement was reached between experiments and simulations for the second and third stages of compaction. Herein, we obtained a mathematical model that links moisture, bond behavior during rupture, and porosity after compression. Different experimental studies have validated the model with high-achieving correspondence between the experiments and simulations. Thus, the proposed simulation methodology proved effective in predicting the porosity of the particles' bulk after uniaxial compaction.Publicationtype: Journal Article22 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Improving the sustainability of porcelain tile manufacture by flowsheet simulation(2023-07-15); ; ; ; Porcelain tiles manufacturing is energy-intensive since it contains several stages in which the product is subjected to thermal treatments. The energy used in the process mainly comes from the combustion of natural gas, pushing the industry to decrease its consumption to upkeep its competitiveness in the coming targets of modern sustainable policies. This work presents a simulation-based strategy for the holistic optimization of energy consumption in the tile manufacturing process. Mechanistic models for all involved processing units, describing the respective thermal and electrical energy consumptions, have been implemented in the Dyssol framework and validated against available experimental data. The energy consumption optimization procedure was performed using a coupled Dyssol-Matlab framework. The proposed cost function, which considered electric and thermal energies, was used as the main criterion to determine the optimal design set of process parameters. Various optimization approaches to minimize the overall cost function and the required computational time have been compared. The proposed strategy allows the computing of improved process parameters resulting in minimization of energy consumption and CO2 emissions while keeping product quality intact. Among the solutions, a reduction of 30.2% of fuel per ton of fired tile can be obtained with modification of the processing parameters.Publicationtype: Journal Article26 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Application of flowsheet simulation methodology to improve productivity and sustainability of porcelain tile manufacturing(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2023-02); ; ; ; Porcelain tile manufacturing is an energy-intensive industry that is in dire need of increasing productivity, minimizing costs, and reducing CO2 emissions, while keeping the product quality intact to remain competitive in today’s environment. In this contribution, alternative processing parameters for the porcelain tile production sequence were proposed based on simulation-based process optimization. Flowsheet simulations in the Dyssol framework were used to study the impact of the milling and firing process parameters on the electrical and thermal energy consumption, final product quality, and productivity of the entire processing sequence. For this purpose, a new model of gas flow consumption in the sintering stage was proposed and implemented. During optimization, the primary condition was to maintain the product quality by keeping the final open porosity of the tile within the specified industrial range. The proposed simulation methodology proved to be effective in predicting the influence of the processing parameters on the intermediate and final products of the manufacturing sequence, as well as in estimating the production costs for the Brazilian and Spanish economic conditions. This approach has shown great potential to promote digitalization and establish digital twins in ceramic tile manufacturing for further in-line process control.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 3 64 175