KILN

Roller hearth kiln moves tiles from unfired to fired state.

Portobello America’s ceramic roller kiln is an impressive 200 meters long, the same length as 2 soccer pitches.

In the kiln the tile transforms from the ‘green’ state to the final ‘fired’ state via heat transferred through ceramic rollers. The tiles move through different zones precisely controlled for temperature and atmosphere to ensure uniform firing. Various temperature zones within the kiln manage the heating, firing, and cooling processes. The zones are carefully regulated to facilitate the chemical and physical changes that occur within the ceramic material. The firing process reduces the green tile size by approximately 8% and the kiln runs continuously: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

A heat recovery system efficiently captures and repurposes excess heat from the kiln, redeploying it for preheating tiles or intake air. This helps to minimize energy consumption and heat loss throughout the firing process. Portobello America technicians use advanced monitoring and control systems to regulate every aspect of the firing process to ensure consistency and quality in the final product. This accurate control over the process enables the production of high-quality tiles with consistent color, gloss, and surface finish.