The Vertical Shaft Brick
Kiln : a technology for the masses
Dr Soumen Maity
smaity@devalt.org
Shelter,
along with food and clothing forms a basic need for all human
beings. In
India, with the rapid growth in population and infrastructure building,
it is increasingly becoming difficult to balance between the demand and
supply of construction materials.
In spite of
various appropriate and alternative technologies based on local and
sustainable resources, propagated for providing low-cost housing to the
millions, the conventional burnt clay brick still holds sway as the
principal walling material and will be amongst the most commonly used
building materials for quite some time.
Unsustainable Technology
The
conventional technologies for firing clay bricks in the country, such as
intermittent in clamps and Bull’s Trench Kilns, consume large quantities
of energy. The net contribution of burnt bricks towards energy
consumption plays a significant role in the Indian economy as it
presently accounts for 27% of the total national energy consumption in
production of construction materials. Even a small reduction in specific
consumption of fuel per kilogramme of brick will have a significant
impact on the energy scenario of the country.
Besides the
consideration of energy consumption, the negative impact of the brick
industry on the environment is of great relevance.
Accelerators for change
In 1992,
the Ministry of Environment and Forests finally decided to prevent
pollution at the source and encourage, develop and apply the best
available technological solutions. In response to a public interest
litigation, Supreme
Court of India passed an order giving deadlines to
the Government of India to act on the matter. The Government at last
issued a notification in 1996 to close down all movable Bull’s Trench
Kilns or convert them to fixed chimney kilns. Permission was also
granted to find alternative technologies with lower emissions. Although
this order was complied with to a certain extent in most of the States,
movable chimney kilns are operating in some areas even today. This is
due to lack of strict enforcement and availability of appropriate
alternatives in lieu of the fixed chimney kilns for small to medium
entrepreneurs.
Thus, the
time was ripe for introduction of energy efficient technologies to
affect energy savings and demonstrate lower levels of emissions in order
to meet new environmental standards.
VSBK- The
Chinese Experience
VSBK
(Vertical shaft brick kiln) has a long history of evolution. The
technology was first born in China. It is not known when the technology
was seeded, but statistics reveal that this technology came into being
between 1968 and 1973. During the decade, in response to the high demand
of building materials due to
the "Green Revolution" in China, this type
of kiln was mainly practiced as a small family based enterprise by
farmers. Since this type of kiln required very little land, most of the
farmers with individual land holdings took it up as an alternate means
of income. During this time, it was mainly used for small scale brick
production only ranging between 2500 to 5000 bricks per day.
A few years
later, in 1985, the Chinese Government decided to improve the efficiency
of the existing kilns. Commissioned by the Government, the Energy
Research Institute of the Henan Academy of Science, in Zengzhou, Henan
Province, initiated a study to improve the existing VSBKs. The final
result of the accelerated efficiency project was above all the promotion
of the wider and much longer shaft with a permanent, stable structure.
Beginnings
in Nepal
In 1990,
The Ceramics Promotion Project (financed under GTZ-GATE project) tested
the viability of the Chinese VSBK technology in Kathmandu, Nepal. A twin
shaft kiln was constructed at Kathmandu Brick Factory, Lubhu, Nepal. The
shafts were 1 x 1 metre in cross section and six metres in height. The
essential difference between this and the Chinese kiln was the absence
of a ramp for transportation of green bricks to the loading platform.
Instead, a mechanical hoist was deployed for the above.
Having an
energy consumption of around 1MJ per kg of fired brick, the energy
saving potential of the technology was clearly demonstrated. However,
both kilns ran into early technical problems that the entrepreneurs
could not solve unaided. The lack of access to reliable technical
backstopping was responsible for early failure of this technology.
Enthusiastic welcome in Bangladesh
With
assistance from SDC, a brick kiln owner from Conforce Ltd, Dhaka,
Bangladesh visited one of the VSBK units in Kathmandu, Nepal. Inspired
by what he witnessed, the entrepreneur subsequently built a kiln in
1993. The height of the kiln was double that of the standard version
used in China. The structure of the kiln was made with solid blocks
without a thick layer of insulation between the inner kiln wall and the
outer supporting structure. Untrained firing crew and excessive draught,
coupled with high energy consumption (1.5 MJ per kg of fired bricks) and
poor quality, led to its demotivation. The need for the same specialized
assistance was overlooked once again. The pilot plant in Bangladesh was
never actually stabilized and was finally dismantled.
The attempt
to transfer the technical know-how to Bangladesh was a spontaneous,
private initiative. The entrepreneur did not know the finer aspects of
the technology. Without requisite technical backup support, he made
fundamental mistakes in the design and construction of the kiln.
Production
Capacity : A Hurdle in Pakistan
In 1992,
under GTZ-GATE, a pilot project was undertaken to test the suitability
of VSBK in Peshawar, Pakistan. The arrival of a three member team from
Henan University of China and one Ceramic Expert from Denmark spelt the
dawn of the VSBK era in Pakistan. A two shaft kiln (each shaft measuring
1 m x 1 m) was constructed in Badaber, Peshawar. The production capacity
was around 3722 bricks per 24 hours. After its initial success, several
units were established in Jalala, Mardan district, Hayatabad, Peshawar
and nearby places.
The VSBK
demonstration (two shaft) units were marketed as an alternative to the
Bull’s Trench Kiln (BTK) technology. The typical production of a BTK
varied between 15,000 to 50,000 bricks per day in Pakistan. With only
two shafts, the VSBK demonstration units could not produce more than
3,700 bricks per day. Thus, there was a clear imbalance between the
output capacity of the VSBK and expectations of the entrepreneurs.
This
difference proved to be a major stumbling block in attracting BTK owners
towards the VSBK technology. Inappropriate information on the limits and
potentials of the VSBK technology resulted in a misjudgment, which
limited its marketability. As a consequence of this oversight, the VSBK
technology made no significant breakthrough in Pakistan beyond the early
pilot project successes.
Alternative
fuels in Sudan
A VSBK was
adapted for use in Sudan. During 1996, a pilot kiln was constructed by
the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the University of
Khartoum in cooperation with GTZ-GATE.
The fuel
used was carbonized agricultural waste from cotton stalks, sunflower
stalks or bagasse. The carbonized fuel, reduced to a granular size, was
dispersed between the interspatial gaps amongst the green bricks during
the loading of the shaft from the top. This VSBK was the first of its
kind that used carbonized agricultural waste. No recent updates on the
operations of this technology are available.
Enthusiastic adoption of VSBK in India
VSBK in
India was launched in 1995 by Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC) as a project on introducing sustainable production
systems for construction materials, including kilns for burnt bricks.
The main objectives of the project were to assess the potential, demand,
economic viability, energy efficiency and ecofriendliness of VSBK in the
Indian context.
The success
of any technology transfer process depends to a large extent on the
capacity of the recipient to absorb the technology. In the Indian SME
sector, it was difficult to find a single enterprise or institution
having the capacity to absorb, adapt and diffuse a complex technology
such as VSBK. From the very beginning, it was moulded into a multiple
partner activity. Development Alternatives, a leading independent sector
organization, working in the area of technology based livelihoods, was
appointed as the implementing agency. The Energy and Resources Institute
was the partner focussing on energy and environment performance aspects.
SKAT and Soranne – two Swiss consulting organizations-were assigned
advisory and backstopping responsibilities of the project. Chinese and
Danish experts shared their international experience in the transfer of
VSBK technology.
From the
lessons learnt during the international survey, a long term association
with the Chinese team was established. The Chinese experts and the
highly competent Chinese craftsmen worked hand in hand with the masons
and engineers during the construction. It was interesting to observe
many technical "exchanges" between the Chinese workmen who knew only
Chinese and the Indian craftsmen who knew only Hindi. This reinforced
the belief that technology transcends the confines of language and is
universal in its nature.
Capacity
building of the local team was facilitated by regular information
exchange amongst team members through meetings, workshops and continuous
exchange of experiences. Systematic interaction with national and
international experts in the areas of ceramics engineering, brick
production, kiln technology and techno commercial evaluation was
organized. Indigenous capacities were built up to design, construct and
operate new kilns in a commercial mode.
Based on
the documented experiences from neighbouring countries, it was decided
at the outset to promote VSBK as a small capacity, flexible technology.
The VSBK production units delivering 10,000 bricks per day, could never
be a substitute to the large scale fixed chimney BTKs producing between
30,000 to 50,000 bricks per day. Thus, the demonstration VSBK units were
constructed in areas where proliferations of clamps or small scale
movable chimney units producing 10,000 – 20,000 bricks per day were
documented.
India is a
large country and considerable regional variations are observed across
the brick industry in terms of raw materials' quality, climatic
conditions, technology selection, working habits, socio-economic
conditions of consumers, entrepreneurs, workers and final product
quality. To test the adaptability of VSBK to these regional variations,
it was decided to pilot test the technology at four different locations
with four different institutions in the Northern, Eastern, Southern and
Western zones. Multiple anchors of the technology were put into place
primarily to -
· |
reduce the risk of a
single institution monopolizing the technology; |
· |
reduce the risk of
failure with respect to technology transfer. |
Thus in
India, the first two pilot kilns were established with NGOs. SDC
provided the financial support for construction and operation of these
two kilns and the project retained substantial control over the
management of these kilns. The initial testing and anchoring was thus
done under a closely controlled environment. Once the technical
viability and energy conservation potential of the technology was
demonstrated the next two pilot kilns were established with private
entrepreneurs.
The
continuous adaptation of the VSBK technology to local requirements was
assessed as a key to its success during the learning mission in
neighbouring countries. Apart from ensuring the know-how transfer, in
long term provision was also made for involving national and
international ceramic, energy and environment experts to help regional
partners in the continuous adaptation of the technology. The provision
for further research effort in the form of an established "VSBK Research
and Development Centre" in Datia, Central India was ensured to cater to
the evolving needs of the brick industry.
Commercial
Success is Achieved
Thus, the
stepping stone of commercial dissemination was established. Within a
span of three years (2000 – 2003), more than 30 VSBKs were established
in a commercial mode. The qualities of bricks were accepted in the
market at a premium. Most of the entrepreneurs were fully satisfied with
the flexibility and performance of the kiln. This was
reiterated by the
increased investment in selective mechanization and capacity
augmentation. The unique selling proposition of the VSBK during this
phase was its energy efficiency. The operation of pilot VSBK kilns has
demonstrated energy savings of at least 30 to 40 percent in comparison
to the best existing kilns. Further, the air pollution is reduced by at
least a factor of 5 using VSBK technology. The watchdog of environmental
pollution in India, Central Pollution Control Board has also approved
this technology certifying it as one of the cleanest brick production
systems even compared to the fixed chimney VSBK. The VSBK technology has
been specifically adopted to suit a scale of production between 15 to 35
lakhs of bricks annually. Enhanced profitability has also been
demonstrated through production months ahead of traditional kilns and
even in monsoon season. The VSBK entrepreneurs are at ease with the
technology as the firing process takes only 24 to 30 hours, and
management of product quality is easier.
Brick
producers from other areas also cloned the technology, proving its
acceptance in the brick industry. Till date, more than 80 VSBK units
have been established or are under varied stages of commissioning all
over the country with active dissemination support from various partners
like Development Alternatives, Gram Vikas, The Energy and Resources
Institute, Damle Clay Structurals, commercial promoting agencies like
Technology and Action for Rural Advancement and leading Government
policy stakeholders like Central Pollution Control Board and Building
Materials and Technology Promotion Council.
To achieve
large scale and positive environmental impact, focused support has been
a felt need for dissemination of this improved brick technology in new
brick clusters affected by environmental regulation. The new states of
Chattisgarh and Jharkhand are experiencing spurt in demand for clay
bricks and both have a dominant presence of movable chimney kilns,
presently threatened with closure. New initiatives has to respond to the
needs of the entrepreneurs by substantially lowering the risks in the
brick business. The lowering of risks is likely to be achieved with
robust technology, through extension of the brick making season,
achieving critical presence of the new technology and improving brick
quality within existing brick clusters.
The
"Greening of Brick Industry" project is a joint initiative between
Development Alternatives, Technology and Action for Rural Advancement
launched in May 2004 with support from the Indo Canada Environment
Facility. It has been conceived with an aim to employ an overarching
strategy of "Capacity Building" to facilitate a collaborative
balanced relationship between different stakeholder interests to work
actively towards improving the environmental and social conditions in
the brick sector.
The main
components of this strategy are:
Facilitating enhanced participation to enable informed decision making
This
strategy component directly links brick community interests with the
environmental and their social well-being. The stakeholder network
involving brick associations, regulatory agencies, and policy makers
will be enabled to exercise positive influence in changing entrepreneur
behaviour to conform to emerging environmental legislation. In contrast
to threats of closure, the entrepreneur will be confronted with
technological and business solutions that will be customized to the
market and livelihood needs of the brick worker community, and respond
to tightening environmental norms.
Intensive
capacity building to leverage market competencies
This
strategy component will be directed towards strengthening supply of
skilled manpower in the brick sector and business interests of market
based service providers. This strategy integrates business interests
with environmental well-being. The network of business development
associates, equipment and service suppliers will be strengthened in
promoting environmentally sound technology solutions.
Spin-off
resurrection in Nepal
After the
initial success of VSBK technology in India as a viable alternative to
traditional brick making, with a huge potential in energy efficiency and
environmental performance, SDC deemed it fit to relook at the
dissemination of VSBK technology in Nepal as a "Technology Transfer
Programme". The programme is being implemented by Skat-Consulting,
Switzerland in association with Development Alternatives,
India and
supported by His Majesty's Government, Department of Cottage and Small
Industries. Under this technical support programme, two pilot kilns were
constructed by 2004 and the programme is being successfully implemented
since May 2003 in Imadole, Lalitpur district within the Kathmandu
Valley. The two pilot kilns were established on a commercial basis to
optimize construction and operational practice of VSBK and to implement
a large component of social action with the brick workers. The initial
operation achieved a 30% reduction in energy consumption and around 80%
reduction in emission parameters. The overall mass emission loads are
also significantly lower than that of the presently operating movable or
fixed chimney BTK.
Encouraged
by the positive results, HMG, Nepal has recently banned the operation of
movable chimney BTK and has also initial legal and administrative action
to convert the existing polluting brick kilns into energy efficient and
less polluting technologies. A high level of awareness on economics of
VSBK business has also been created amongst the brick practitioners.
Overwhelming dissemination in Vietnam
In Vietnam,
brick sector is traditionally a small and family based industry and
common in rural areas. It is one of the largest industries which
generate much employment and income. Based on ownership, the small and
medium family based enterprises cater to about 70% of the annual brick
consumption.
SDC, in
cooperation with Entec AG, introduced VSBK in Nam Dinh Province during
2003 to identify and develop economically viable and environmentally
sound solutions for the needed improvements in the brick sector. The
pilot kiln was constructed with active support from Chinese experts.
Measure of acceptance of the technology is demonstrated by proliferation
of more than 100 units within a short span of one year. However, the
benefits reaped in the Indian experience are clearly not being
demonstrated in a majority of the kilns due to lack of specific
technological support. Under the UNDP – SGP a pilot scale VSBK will be
introduced in Xuan Quang, a commune in Van Giang district, Hung Yen
Province to demonstrate new technologies in energy conservation. The
project will focus on technology transfer and awareness raising on
environmental protection and sustainable use for brick makers.
Thus, VSBK
has come a long way as a people-friendly technology which has proved
that `small is posssible'. It is also clear that, the success of this
technology can only be ensured through effective know-how transer,
technical support and engagement of government on key policy issues.
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