Centro De Produção De Loulé (Ci)

Centro De Produção De Loulé (Ci) is a lime plant in Portugal with a reported capacity of 787,534 t of lime. Lime plants calcine limestone in hot kilns at 800–900°C, and the hot quicklime must be handled in insulated vessels to prevent reaction with moisture. By capacity it ranks #2 among 5 lime plants in Portugal. It emits about 518,564 t CO₂e a year from Climate TRACE, roughly comparable to the annual emissions of 121k passenger cars.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-38467717.

In context: how this facility compares

At 787,534 t of lime, Centro De Produção De Loulé (Ci) is around the median lime plant in Portugal (702,065 t of lime). Subsector: lime. As lime plant, it requires high process heat (typically 600–900°C) for its core industrial operations — heat that must be supplied by boilers, furnaces or direct combustion, and losses through uninsulated vessels and piping represent wasted fuel. Removable modular insulation can cut those losses by 80–96%, surface-cooling equipment to ≤45°C, with payback often under 2 years. Lime plants calcine limestone in hot kilns at 800–900°C, and the hot quicklime must be handled in insulated vessels to prevent reaction with moisture.

Capacity & CO₂-intensity comparison computed from Climate TRACE industrial facilities data; sector role based on engineering reference.

What 518,564 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest lime plants in Portugal

Reported capacity (t of lime), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Local climate

Centro De Produção De Loulé (Ci) sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csa), at 37.1°N in the northern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

The local climate sets how fast unprotected steel, protective coatings and the insulation on hot process equipment degrade at this site. It sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

In this site’s local climate, a bare 150 °C surface sheds about 1329 W/m² to ambient — roughly 1.02× the loss at a 20 °C reference; removable insulation recovers about 1263 W/m² of that. Reference-surface calculation at a 150 °C surface from WorldClim climate normals (ASTM C680 / ISO 12241) — an indicative per-climate comparison, not a measurement of this site’s specific equipment. Open method dataset: DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20787408 (CC BY 4.0).

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby sites

The #2 largest of 5 lime plants in Portugal by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Loule Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 274,581 t CO₂
• Cítricos Del Andévalo, S.A. · Food & Beverage
• Matadero Industrial El Mayorazgo De Jabugo, S.A. · Food & Beverage
• CEPSA La Rabida Refinery · Refinery · 2,216,744 t CO₂
• Galp Energia Sines Refinery · Refinery · 2,497,426 t CO₂
• Repsol SA , Sines · Petrochemical · 535,047 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates 37.1343, -8.09759. View on OpenStreetMap.

Heat loss & insulation profile

For a lime plant, the main modular-insulation targets are kiln, preheater, hot-gas ducting, valves & dampers. Typical hot-surface ranges used for screening: 200–900 °C °C.

calcination-heavy like cement; fuel side only.

Indicative recoverable energy

A first-pass insulation screen suggests about 7,200 MWh/year of recoverable heat-loss reduction and about 2,400 t CO₂e/year of avoided emissions. Screening estimate scaled from installed process-heat projects and surface-temperature reduction data.

See Inzonex Modular Insulation → Run the calculator →

Screening calculation from facility class, capacity and open emissions/energy context. Engineering survey required before procurement.

Safety & the no-regret first step

Start with a thermal survey of valves, flanges, doors and bends. Removable modular insulation keeps maintenance access open while lowering exposed-surface temperature and wasted heat.

EU policy pressure on this sector

Obligation

This facility is inside the EU. For thermal equipment, insulation upgrades can support ETS exposure reduction and energy-efficiency compliance.

Sources: EU ETS, CBAM and national energy-efficiency schemes.

Frequently asked questions