Products that can consume less energy and, above all, are recyclable. For the past seven years Simonelli Group in collaboration with the Marche Polytechnic University and the Marche Manufacturing cluster has undertaken a series of research with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of espresso machines. Using the ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ methodology, the company has created a mapping of all coffee machine components in order to calculate the environmental impact of each of them and then identify a design and new materials that can reduce the overall CO2 emission during the entire product life cycle. <\/p>\n
“According to a study by World Coffee Research,” recalls Mauro Parrini, Chief Operations Officer of Simonelli Group, “it appears that by 2050 there will be a contraction of at least 50 percent of the global extent of arable land suitable for growing Coffea Arabica due to the effects of ‘climate change.’ If this were to occur there would be very heavy repercussions on the entire coffee supply chain, but above all it would be the 25 million farmers who make their living from coffee cultivation who would suffer the most. ‘Climate change’ is nothing more than a consequence of the irresponsible behavior we humans have had until now toward the Earth’s ecosystem. The coffee world is not immune from this responsibility since all stages of its supply chain have an impact on the environmental issue, and therefore our industry is also called upon to correct those practices that are not eco-sustainable.”<\/p>\n
Simonelli Group has been active on this front for several years, having developed and launched technologies that not only improve the performance performance of its equipment but also significantly lower its environmental impact. This is the result of a multi-year collaboration initiated with the Design Tools & Methods Group department of the Marche Polytechnic University and the Marche Manufacturing cluster, a public-private partnership composed of universities, research institutes and companies that collaborate to gather and study the needs of manufacturing production, which is increasingly oriented toward automated, efficient, low environmental impact and human-oriented processing, objectives defined as fundamental by the national Intelligent Factory cluster. <\/p>\n
How do you measure the environmental impact of the espresso machine?<\/strong><\/p>\n The most recurrent measure is the Carbon Footprint, which expresses in CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) the total greenhouse gas emissions associated directly or indirectly with a product. “In order to know the environmental impact of coffee equipment,” Parrini continues, “we used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a standardized methodology (IS= 14040 and 14044) that allows us to verify the influence that a product exerts in environmental terms, throughout its life; from the moment it is produced (also considering the realization of the components necessary for its realization), to the use phase until it is disposed of.” The LCA calculation, while particularly complex, has the advantage of providing a somewhat precise and immediate measure of the footprint that each product leaves on our ecosystem. <\/p>\n According to this calculation system, each machine, depending on the materials used, the location of the production steps and the outlet market, can have a higher or lower environmental impact.<\/p>\n Research results: up to 23% reduction in CO2 emission and large energy savings <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong>“This kind of analysis allowed us to start new projects both from a design point of view, with the identification of new biomaterials, and from a technological point of view,” Parrini continues. “We have managed to reduce between 20 and 23 percent the CO2 emission of our coffee machinescompared<\/strong>to reference products in the same category.<\/strong> This high percentage is also due to the introduction of new patented technologies that also reduce energy consumption. Thanks to these studies, for example, we have developed new technological solutions capable of drastically reducing Co2 emissions during production and use. One example is the T3 technology, which not only has the advantage of ensuring temperature stability and thus consistency in the cup. In fact, T3 achieves significant energy savings ranging from 30 to 40 percent compared to a machine with other technology. The new patented T.E.R.S. (Temperature Energy Recovery System) technology also helps to reduce energy consumption: in fact, it uses the energy of the waste water to pre-heat the incoming water. The result is an 8 percent saving on total machine consumption.” <\/p>\n <\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\n