Ircon-Solaronics GemDryer cuts gas consumption by 25 percent at Sappi Carmignano

Strategic thermal optimization in specialty papers

In the energy-intensive reality of 2026, achieving a 25% reduction in gas consumption on a coating line represents a direct and significant impact on a mill's bottom line. Ircon-Solaronics, a key player within the Heating & Drying Group, has delivered exactly this metric at the Sappi Italy Operations S.p.A. facility in Carmignano di Brenta, Padua. The intervention, executed on the mill's off-line coater, centers on the deployment of the GemDryer system to fundamentally optimize the drying process for specialty papers.

The engineering architecture of this project goes far beyond a simple equipment swap. The new configuration incorporates high-intensity Gem12-Hi gas infrared emitters, which deliver rapid energy transfer to the coating layer. However, the core of the 25% energy saving lies in the system's closed-loop thermal efficiency. The setup captures the evacuated hot air from the infrared process and redirects it as an active energy source for the existing air dryers. This energy recovery mechanism drastically lowers the overall thermal demand of the coating section.

Precision control and coating quality

Drying specialty coatings requires a delicate balance; applying too much heat too quickly can cause blistering, while insufficient initial drying leads to binder migration and surface defects. To address this, Ircon-Solaronics integrated advanced optical pyrometers into the Carmignano line. These sensors provide real-time, precise control over the web temperature, ensuring the delicate surface coating remains perfectly stable throughout the drying curve. The result communicated by the mill is not just a reduction in fossil fuel use, but a measurable improvement in the final quality of the dried web.

Sappi’s Carmignano plant is a non-integrated facility with a 150-year industrial legacy. Equipped with two paper machines, dedicated off-line coating capabilities, and a converting center, the plant employs approximately 255 workers and outputs around 90,000 tons of specialty paper annually. In a highly competitive European market where margins on specialty grades are tightly linked to production costs, optimizing energy-intensive processes like off-line coating is a structural necessity.

Gas dependency remains a critical vulnerability for the European paper industry. While full electrification of drying processes dominates long-term strategic planning, pragmatic mid-term viability requires squeezing maximum efficiency from existing thermal assets. This targeted retrofit demonstrates that combining high-efficiency infrared technology with smart heat recovery yields immediate operational and financial dividends, proving that decarbonization and cost-cutting can advance simultaneously.

This project demonstrates that the most effective sustainability strategies in our sector are those that simultaneously attack operational costs and process bottlenecks. As energy recovery becomes standard in coating operations, how long will it take for older, standalone infrared systems to become financially unviable for specialty paper producers? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai