Comparative Evaluation of Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction Measures for Brick Kilns /

Abstract

The brick kiln sector in South Asia contributes to nearly quarter of the global bricks production. Coal is the primary fuel used by this industry and its inefficient combustion process results in harmful pollutants contributing to deteriorating air quality, health problems in local communities, and greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of cleaner technologies and adoption pathways to achieve environment-friendly and energy-efficient production of bricks in Pakistan during 2019-2050. The study incorporates various timelines for (Zig-Zag Kilns) ZZKs and Vertical Shaft Brick Kilns (VSBKs) adoption, and the phasing out of conventional, Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln (FCBTKs). Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) based numerical calculations are performed to simulate brick production from 2019-2050 for seven different scenarios incorporating an assimilated technology mix of FCBTKs, ZZKs, and VSBKs. Emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, black carbon, methane, non-methane volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are considered in this study. The swiftness of energy demand, and emissions reductions are greatly impacted by the elimination of the conventional FCBTKs. By adopting ZZKs and VSBKs, 365.5 million tons (21.8%) of GHGs and 332.5 million tons (19.85%) GHG emission reduction achieved respectively. The annual social cost of using FCBTKs increases from 1.02 billion $ in 2019 to 1.88 billion $ in 2050. Cumulative fuel saving potential of retrofitting to ZZKs is 157 million tons (17.7%) and it offers nearly 0.92 billion $ (51%) savings in annual social cost for year 2050. Our study finds that early adoption of ZZKs would benefit more than delayed adoption of VSBKs. However, transition to ZZK / VSBK alone would not be sufficient to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Carbon neutral fuels such as biomass and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) appear as an attractive option for deep decarbonization of this sector.

Brick manufacturing sector is a major contributor to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in South Asian countries. This study investigates barriers and drivers relevant to the adoption of cleaner zig-zag kiln (ZZK) technology in Punjab, Pakistan by surveying 63 kiln owners. These survey respondents owned three different types of brick kiln i.e., ZZK, Fixed chimney bull’s trench kiln (FCBTK), and clamp type kiln (CTK). Roger’s model of innovation diffusion was adopted to access the determinants pertaining to relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. The survey questionnaire included questions related to 36 factors (20 drivers and 16 barriers) and responses were recorded on the Likert scale. These barriers and drivers covered a variety of factors associated with regulatory, financial, technological, social, and environmental issues that may influence the perception and decision of kiln owners for the adoption of cleaner ZZK technology. Our results show that most important drivers pertain to economic benefits such as emissions fine reduction, decrease in fuel costs and year-round operations. Other high impact drivers relate to compatibility and similarity between ZZK and FCBTK construction and operations. Top-ranked barriers highlight the challenges associated with the financial burden of retrofitting cost, higher salaries demanded by skilled workers, and maintenance issues for blower assembly. Mean scores for the determinants pertaining to the attributes of Roger’s model were computed. Our results show that both relative advantage and compatibility received the highest mean scores. On the other hand, trialability and observability received lowest scores. The government, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders should focus on awareness campaigns, capacity building and training of labor, and developing financial instruments to provide loans to kiln owners for covering retrofit costs.

Indian brick manufacturing industry is a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This sector uses coal as a primary fuel in nearly 150,000 brick kilns, majority of which are based on energy in-efficient, fixed chimney bull-trench kiln (FCBTK) technology. Annually, the brick making in India consumes nearly 60 million tons of coal, produces almost 250 billion bricks and emits more than 150 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other GHG emissions. The pollutants produced include carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), methane (CH4), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC). This study provides the first comprehensive long-term (2020 – 2050) assessment of Indian brick kiln sector by forecasting the annual fuel demand, GHG emissions, pollutants formations and annual externality cost borne by the community. A low emissions analysis platform (LEAP) software based bottom-up simulation model has been developed for performing the assessment. Business as usual (BAU) and four alternative scenarios comprising of cleaner kiln technologies are evaluated. These technologies include zig zag kiln (ZZK), vertical shaft brick kiln (VSBK) and tunnel kiln (TK). Values for emission factors for pollutants, energy intensities of kilns, and social costs of pollutants are taken from the literature. Our results show that VSBK is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly technology, closely followed by ZZK. For the year 2050, ZZK can save up to 16 billion dollars in externality costs and reduce coal demand by approximately 260 million tons. ZZK is not only a cleaner technology, but also has significant resemblance with conventional FCBTK technology which can be easily retrofitted to ZZK. The government and other stakeholders should promote ZZK adoption and develop suitable policy and financial instruments to address barriers to transition.