Lavazza has also recently (2014) installed a new plant recirculating the exhaust gases for pre-heating green coffee. The plant is located in Gattinara, 90 km north-east of Turin, and produces 70000 tonnes of coffee per year. Two new batch roasters (unitary capacity: 5 tonnes/hour) were installed, equipped with recirculation, catalytic exhaust gas treatment and pre-heating technology. Green beans are preheated using the cleaned exhaust gases to a maximum temperature of 100°C.
Depending on the type of roasting cycle, the pre-heating system allows heating energy to be recovered and saving of approximately 10% in terms of methane consumption in comparison to a situation without this system.