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Brick Kilns and their Effect on Environment
Dr. N. Subramanian
Introduction
Bricks are traditional building materials
which hold a lot of importance in Indian
architecture. Brick manufacture in India
and also in some parts of the world still use
the traditional firing technique. After China,
India is the second largest manufacturer
of bricks, producing over 10 percent of the
global production, and has about 140,000
brick-making enterprises, which accounts
for 250 billion brick masonry units (www.
proptiger.com). The industry employs
about 15 million workers and consumes
over 35 million tons of coal annually.
In developed countries, the simple kilns
have been replaced by continuous tunnel
kilns that produce millions of high-quality
bricks in less time. For India’s brick industry
to survive, it should modernize its kilns.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (HUA) is examining whether it
176 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
can ban use of burnt-clay bricks in its
construction projects, a move aimed to
boost environment-friendly products. If the
Government bans burnt clay bricks, it would
be a big blow to the brick-kiln industry. The
National Green Tribunal (NGT) too had
ordered that digging of earth for making
bricks without prior environment clearance
(EC), be banned.
These moves are because traditional brick-
kilns cause air pollution as they use coal
in the brick-making process. In October
2018, the Supreme Court empowered
Environment Pollution (Prevention and
Control) Authority (EPCA) to ensure that
all brick-kilns implement the “zig-zag”
technology, as specified by the Ministry
of Environment and Forests, which can
reduce emissions by 80 percent.
This article presents a review of the various
kiln technologies and suggests that the
vertical shaft brick kiln (VSBK) should
be used as an alternative to the polluting
traditional kilns. By adopting VSKB, the
huge manpower engaged in this industry
will not only safeguard their livelihood but
can also live in better workplaces with
limited pollution.
Classification of Brick Kilns
Brick kilns first started in pits and walls were
added later. A chimney stack was added to
improve the air flow or draught of the kiln,
and to help burn the fuel more completely.
Several variations have been invented
over the years with varying degrees of
efficiency and cost. The different types of
brick kiln technologies that are used around
the world, include the following (Akinshipe
and Kornelius, 2017): 1. Clamp kiln 2. Up-
draught kiln (UDK) 3. Down-draught kiln
(DDK) 4. Bull’s trench kiln (BTK) which can
have movable or fixed chimney 5. Zig-zag
kiln 6. Hoffman (annular) kiln 7. Vertical
shaft brick kiln (VSBK) and 8. Tunnel kiln.
 Brick Kilns
Figure 1: Classification of brick kilns based on production process
The less popular types include the Habla
kiln (an energy efficient variant to the Zig-
zag kiln invented in Germany), the Igloo
or Beehive kiln (used in Zimbabwe), the
Kondagaon kiln, and the Bhadrawati kiln
(Akinshipe and Kornelius, 2017). Other
less common kilns include the modified
clamp kilns such as the Scove kiln and the
Scotch kiln.
There two types of brick kilns based on the
production process and based on the flow
of air in the kilns.
Classification Based on
Production Process
The two basic types are Intermittent kilns
and Continuous kilns (Fig. 1).
In intermittent kilns, bricks are fired in
batches and can be further sub-divided into
two categories: without chimney, which do
not have any stack/chimney to guide the
flue gases (examples: Clamp, Scove and
Scotch kilns), and with chimney, which
have a stack/chimney to create draught for
releasing the flue gases at a higher level in
the atmosphere (Examples: Downdraught
kiln and climbing kilns). In both types,
bricks and fuel are stacked in layers and
the entire batch is fired at once. After the
fire dies down, the bricks are allowed to
cool. The kiln is then emptied, refilled
again with raw bricks, and a new fire is
started for the next batch of bricks. Thus,
the heat contained in the hot flue gases,
in the fired bricks and in the kiln structure
is lost. These kilns have low fuel efficiency
and pollute the atmosphere.
In Continuous kilns, the fire is always
burning; the bricks are loaded, dried and
preheated, fired and cooled simultaneously
178 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
in different chambers in the kiln. These
continuous kilns are sub-divided into two
categories: moving fire kilns and moving
ware kilns. In a moving-fire kiln, the fire
progressively moves around a closed kiln
circuit with the help of a chimney or suction
fan, while the bricks remain stationary
(Examples: the Hoffman kiln, Fixed
Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln, and the Habla
zig-zag Kiln). In a moving ware kiln, the fire
remains stationary, while the bricks and air
move in counter-current paths (examples:
the tunnel kiln and the vertical shaft
brick kiln). These kilns vary in efficiency,
emissions, and productivity.
Classification Based on Air Flow
Based on the direction of air flow with
respect to the brick setting in the kiln, brick
kilns can be classified as up-draught kilns,
down-draught kilns and cross-draught
kilns. In an up-draught kiln, air enters
the kiln from below, gets heated by the
fire, and moves upward through the brick
setting, transferring the heat to the bricks.
The upward movement of heated air is a
natural phenomenon and hence does not
require a stack or fan to cause the air flow.
Clamps and vertical shaft brick kiln (VSBK)
are examples of up-draught kilns. In a
down-draught kiln, air is first heated up by
the fire. The hot air is then made to enter the
kiln from top and is brought down through
the brick setting with the help of draught
created by a stack. In these types of kilns,
usually, the bricks are not in direct contact
with the fire. Down-draught kiln is an
example of this category of kilns. In cross-
draught kiln, air flows horizontally through
the brick stacking. The air movement is
caused by either the draught created by the
chimney (natural draught) or the draught
provided by a fan (forced draught). These
are also called horizontal draught kilns. The
Hoffman kiln, fixed chimney Bull’s trench
kiln and tunnel kiln are examples of cross-
draught kilns.
Fuels Used in Brick Kilns
In brick kilns, generally, solid fuels such as
coal, wood, sawdust; agricultural residue
like mustard stalk, rice husk, coffee husk;
industrial wastes and bye-products like
used rubber tyres, and pet-coke are used.
Bricks can also be fired using natural gas,
diesel, and biogas. Relevant fuel properties,
calculation of specific energy consumption,
and instruments required for the energy
monitoring of brick kilns, are discussed in
Kumar, S. and Maithel, 2016.
Some of the brick kiln technologies are
briefly discussed below.
Clamp Kilns
Invented by the Egyptians in 4000 BC,
the clamps kiln is an intermittent kiln,
primitive and traditional, and lacking a
permanent structure. It is also one of the
most commonly used brick firing technique
in developing countries, including India (25-
40%) and South Africa (68-85%).
It is generally trapezoidal in plan with its
shorter edge among the parallel sides
below the ground and the surface rising
constantly at about 15 degrees to reach
the other parallel edge over the ground
(Fig. 2). It has a height of about 4 to 6 m. A
vertical mud brick wall is constructed at the
lower edge to support the stack of the brick.
Coal, wood or any other locally available
 Brick Kilns
fuel such as cow dung and husk is
laid as the bottom most layer, over
which a layer of about 4 to 5 rows
of bricks is laid, followed by a fuel
layer again. Some space is left
between bricks for free circulation
of hot gasses. The alternate layers
of bricks and fuel is covered at the
top and at the sides with earth to
preserve the heat. When the bottom
layer of the kiln packed with fuel is
ignited, it sets the bricks on fire one
layer at a time until the whole kiln
is ablaze. Each clamp kiln can burn
about 25,000-100,000 bricks and
takes about three months to burn
and cool the bricks.
About 20 to 30 percentage of bricks
produced using clamp kilns are of
poor quality. In addition, clamps
cannot be operated during the
monsoon season. The bricks at the bottom
are over-burnt while those at the top are
under-burnt. The bricks may lose their
shape as they descend downward once
the fuel layer is burnt. Clamp kilns are
labor-intensive and are often operated in
clusters. They burn fuel inefficiently and
are highly polluting. Since they are easy
and simple to build, they can be easily
located close to a clay source, minimizing
cost of transportation.
Figure 3: The Down-Draught Kiln (DDK) (1.1-firing chamber/kiln, 1.2-chimney, 1.3-underground flue duct, 1.4-fire bixes,
180 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
Figure 2: A clamp kiln
Down-Draught Kiln (DDK)
In early 19th century, various attempts to
improve the product quality and energy
efficiency of kilns led to the development of
the up-draught and then the down-draught
kiln. The main advantage of this kiln is that
the fuel and fuel residue do not come into
contact with the kiln charge and hence no
pollutants are deposited on the surface of
the products.
The down draught kiln (DDK) is an
intermittent kiln in which the bricks are fired
in batches. It has a permanent structure
3.1-roof of the kiln, 3.2 green bricks)
consisting of a rectangular firing
chamber connected to a chimney
through an underground flue duct,
and a barrel-vaulted roof (Fig. 3). The
inner surface of the kiln is constructed
with refractory bricks, and there
are fireboxes at the bottom of the
chamber on both sides where the fuel
is burnt. Usually, two chambers are
connected to a single chimney and
are fired alternately.
Each chamber has a capacity of firing
20,000 – 40,000 bricks in a batch.
The bricks stacked in the chamber/
kiln are not in direct contact with
the flames. The hot gases from the
burning fuel are deflected to the roof
of the kiln, which are then drawn
downwards by the chimney draught
through the green bricks to fire them,
and then out through the chimney
stack. Continuous feeding of fuel (by coal,
gas or oil, firewood, twigs and branches)
for about 30 hours ensures a uniform
heat distribution in the kiln until the target
temperature is attained. This temperature is
maintained for a specific period until the fire
subsides, thereby ensuring better thermal
performance and lesser heat loss. The
kiln cools down in 2-3 days. The total time
required for a batch from loading and firing
of green bricks to cooling and unloading of
fired bricks is around 7 - 10 days.
 Brick Kilns
Figure 4: Typical Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln (FCBTK)
As there is a uniform heat distribution
in DDK, the percentage of good quality
bricks is higher than clamp kilns. However,
DDK has limited heat recovery features.
Other kilns with similar configuration are
the up-draught and cross-draught kilns,
differing in the direction of the heat flow. It
is estimated that there are about 300 DDKs
with a capacity of 0.24 billion bricks per
year, which is about 1 percent of the 250
billion bricks produced in India.
Fixed Chimney Bull’s
Trench Kiln (FCBTK)
The fixed chimney Bull’s trench kiln
(FCBTK) is the most widely used brick
firing technology in South Asian countries.
It is estimated that India has about 35,000
FCBTKs producing 185 billion bricks per
year. It is a continuous, cross-draught,
and ring-shaped moving-fire kiln, in which
the fire is always burning and moving
forward in the direction of air flow due to
the draught provided by a chimney. Thus,
the bricks are warmed, fired, and cooled
simultaneously in different parts of the kiln.
It is a modified version of Bull’s trench kiln
(BTK) developed by a British engineer
W. Bull in 1876. Initially, it had movable
metal chimneys, which were placed on the
brick setting and were moved by workers
manually, as the fire moved through the
kiln. As the movable chimney Bull’s trench
kiln (MCBTK) has hazardous working
conditions and resulted in high emissions,
it has been banned in several countries.
During the 1990s, the technology was
modified to make it more efficient and
184 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
less polluting, which resulted in the fixed
chimney Bull’s trench kiln (FCBTK).
In the FCBTK, the bricks are stacked in the
firing zone, a ring space formed between
the inner and outer walls of the kiln (with
a central perimeter of about 180-220 m),
while the moving fire passes through the
green bricks. It operates under the natural
draught provided by the chimney (20 - 38 m
high) located at the center of the kiln. The
sidewalls in the FCBTK are permanent,
constructed above the ground, while the
roof is temporary, formed from a covering
of ash or brick dust, which reduces the heat
loss and seals the kiln from any leakage.
Three distinct zones are there in the
FCBTK (Fig. 4):
1. The combustion zone (the fuel feeding
and firing zone) where hot gases are
released from combustion of coal,
firewood, or agriculture residue. These
fuels are fed from the kiln feedholes
(provided at the top of the kiln) by two
firemen standing on top of the kiln.
Fuel is fed at an interval of every 15-20
minutes and each fuel feeding lasts for
5-10 minutes.
2. The brick preheating zone (in front of
the firing zone) where green bricks
are stacked and pre heated by the flue
gases. The front end of the preheating
zone is sealed to guide the flue gas
to chimney through the flue gas duct
system).
3. The brick cooling zone (behind the firing
zone) where red bricks are cooled by
the cold air flowing into the kiln from the
unloading end of the kiln.
The fire travels a distance of 6-10 m in 24
hours and fires 20,000 to 50,000 bricks.
Daily, red bricks are unloaded from the front
of the brick cooling zone and an equivalent
batch of green bricks is loaded ahead of
the brick preheating zone. FCBTK has
the capacity to produce consistent colour
and high-quality fired bricks. However,
poor fuel feeding practices and incomplete
combustion in an FCBTK result in high
emissions of particulate matter (PM) and
gaseous pollutants, leading to poor air
quality around FCBTK clusters. FCBK can
be used to produce solid/hollow/perforated
bricks, roof and floor tiles.
The high concentration of suspended
particulate matter (SPM) released by
FCBTK results in high incidence of
respiratory tract infections and cardio-
vascular diseases among workers. In
addition, the fireman is exposed directly to
radiation from the flames resulting in eye
and skin diseases and also dehydration.
Plus, there is always a danger of caving-in
of the bricks, resulting in accidents.
The FCBTK being a continuous kiln with
good heat recovery features, is significantly
more efficient compared to intermittent
kilns, but is less efficient compared to some
of the other continuous kilns like the VSBK
and Zigzag.
The Hoffman Kiln (HK)
The Hoffman kiln is a continuous, moving
fire kiln that was developed and patented
by Friedrich Hoffman in Germany in 1858.
They were introduced in the Malabar
coastal region (south-west coast) of India
 Brick Kilns
by German missionaries in the 19th century.
In this kiln, the fire is always burning and
moving forward through the bricks stacked
in a circular, elliptical or rectangular shaped
closed circuit with an arched roof. The
fire movement is caused by the draught
provided by a chimney or a fan.
The first Hoffmann kilns were in the form
of a circular ring chamber, with a chimney
(25-35 m high) at the center. The present
Hoffman kilns are made with elliptical or
rectangular shaped annular circuit (central
perimeter 80-90 m), with the chimney
located on one side of the kiln. The
structure is usually covered with a sloped
roof to protect it from rains. The chimney
is connected to the central flue duct
through an underground duct. The kiln is
connected to the central flue duct through
openings provided in the inner wall of the
kiln (www.lowtechmagazine.com).
The barrel-arched chambers have several
feedholes in the roof through which fine
coal is fed for firing the bricks. Fuel is fed
at an interval of every 15-20 minutes and
each fuel feeding lasts for 5-10 minutes.
Around the outer wall of the kiln, openings
are provided for loading and unloading the
individual firing chambers (Fig. 5). These
chambers are separated from each other
by very large metal dampers that can
be raised and lowered as the fire moves
around the kiln from chamber to chamber.
The fire travels a distance of around 10
m in 24 hours and fires 10,000 to 20,000
bricks. Once the kiln is lit, it is allowed to
go out, and the sequence of operation is
continuous.
At regular intervals, the firing zone is
moved forward, and the corresponding
changes made to the dampers between
the chambers and into the chimney. The
chambers being loaded and unloaded
move forward in sequence, and in this way,
heat is extracted from the cooling bricks
and also from the hot combustion gases.
As the fire passes round the kiln, the
chambers in front of the actual firing zone
are gradually warmed, and the chambers
behind are cooled slowly. Although the
burning time is only three days, the bricks
are in the kiln for about ten days to allow for
raising the temperature and, after burning,
186 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
subsequent lowering of the temperature
before unloading the chambers.
The Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK)
The original Hoffmann kiln is no longer used
as it had a large heat absorbing mass, and
the tapering firing chambers were small
and complicated the loading, while the
very large damper between chambers was
cumbersome and awkward to operate.
The modern HHK was developed in China
and is extensively used in China and
South Asia. According to Baum (2010), an
estimated 90% of the total bricks produced
in China are made using such kilns, which
can use coal or natural gas as fuel.
The HHK combines use of green bricks
produced by mixing powdered fuel with
clay (around 80% of the fuel required for
firing bricks is mixed with clay as internal
fuel); and utilize waste heat by transferring
the heat to an adjacent tunnel to dry
green bricks, resulting in lower energy
consumption and reduced air pollution.
The construction of an HHK is similar to
a Hoffman kiln, but it does not have a tall
chimney. Hot flue gases from the central
flue duct of the kiln are first diverted to the
drying tunnels through ducts and are then
released into the atmosphere through a
rectangular opening of 5-6 m height. The
fire movement is caused by a blower that
forces the air required for combustion
from behind. The fire travels at a fast rate
of about 1.25 m/hour and in the process
fires around 50,000 bricks daily. Hybrid
Hoffmann kilns are not used in India.
The Habla Zig-Zag Kiln
(HZZK)
The HZZK is a continuous kiln in which
temporary cross walls of green bricks are
constructed to leave openings on alternate
sides. This kind of arrangement makes the
hot air to trave la longer distance in a zig-
zag fashion, achieving larger transfer of
heat from a given quantity of fuel. Fans may
also be installed to provide the necessary
draught. The HZZK offers almost complete
fuel combustion. Higher fuel combustion
means less fuel is consumed, eliminating
soot (black carbon) and CO2 emissions.
The directional zig-zag controlled air
turbulence results in even heat distribution
and maximum heat generation, thus
increasing fuel combustion and decreasing
fuel consumption. Increasing the speed of
firing zone means that the kiln requires a
smaller footprint. However, HZZK provides
similar production outputs to that of a
comparable FCBTK. More information on
Habla Zig-Zag Kilns can be found in www.
hablakilns.com.
The Vertical Shaft Brick
Kiln (VSBK)
The VSBK was invented in China in 1958
as a modification of the traditional updraft
intermittent kiln. The VSBK is a continuous
updraft kiln with a stationary fire and a
moving brick arrangement. Fig. 6 shows
the schematic diagram of the working
principle of VSBK. The kiln works in the
form of a “counter-current heat exchanger”
since heat exchange takes place between
the continuous flowing updraft air and the
intermittently downwards moving bricks.
A VSBK consists of a long, rectangular,
vertical shaft through which green bricks
and fuel are lowered from top to bottom in
batches (the shaft is made of fire resisting
refractory bricks). The height of the shaft is
about 6 to 10m and the cross-section of the
shaft ranges from 1.0× 1.5 m to 1.75×3.75
m. The kiln consists of two or more shafts
which are enclosed by an outer wall made
up of bricks, and the gap between the shaft
and outer kiln wall is filled with insulating
materials like clay, fly ash, rice husk, or
glass wool. Each batch typically contains
four layers of bricks, set in two distinct pre-
determined patterns called a normal batch
or a zig-zag batch. The fired bricks are
unloaded from the bottom of the shaft.
The shaft has three distinct sections: the
top preheating zone where the incoming
green bricks are preheated by the upward
moving flue gases; the middle firing zone
where fuel combustion occurs; and the
lower cooling zone where the fired bricks
are cooled down by the cold ambient air
entering the shaft. Peep-hole pipes are
fixed in the outer wall of the VSBK shaft
and used to monitor the condition of the
fire inside the shaft and also to monitor
the temperature of the different batches.
Ramps/steps/conveyors or a loading gantry
connects the ground floor with the loading
 Brick Kilns
Figure 6: Schematic of the vertical shaft brick kiln (VSBK)
platform, which is used to transport the
green bricks to the loading platform from
the ground. The loading platform at the top
of the shaft is usually covered by a roof
and is used to store green bricks before
stacking them into the shaft.
Green bricks are loaded from the top of
the shaft in batches. Once the bricks are
stacked at the top zone, they pass through
pre-heating, firing and cooling zones
before reaching the bottom of the shaft
where the burnt bricks are unloaded. The
fuel may be present as internal fuel and
external fuel. The internal fuel is added
with the soil prior to brick moulding. The
different internal fuels used in VSBK are
coal powder, fly ash, and biomass fuels
such as rice husk and bagasse. Only coal
is used as an external fuel in VSBK; it is
added along with the green brick batches
from the top of the shaft.
Air for combustion enters the shaft from
the bottom (as shown in Fig. 6). It gets
preheated by the hot fired bricks in the
brick cooling zone at the bottom, before
reaching the firing zone. After combustion,
the hot flue gases preheat the green bricks
in the preheating zone before exiting the
kiln through the chimneys (through the
188 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
flue duct at a temperature of 60-130oC).
Typically, two chimneys are provided
at diagonally opposite corners of each
shaft. Dampers (adjustable valves) in the
chimney control the draught and also the
exit of flue gases from the chimney. The
stack of bricks rest on I or square shaped
support bars (which can be removed or
inserted), which in-turn are supported
by a pair of horizontal beams across the
arches in the unloading tunnel. A lid cover
on the shaft top prevents smoke and heat
loss from the shaft. A hydraulic trolley
mechanism or a single screw jack system
is used for unloading the fired bricks, which
is carried out in batches from the bottom
using a trolley-every 2-3 hours, one batch
is unloaded at the bottom and a batch of
green bricks is loaded at the top. At any
given time there will be 8 to 12 batches in
a kiln.
The right soil quality is one of the most
important factors in the VSBK technology
to determine the fired brick’s quality. In
general, VSBK requires clayey soil with
relatively higher plasticity. Bricks used
in VSBKs are made from coarse type
of clay, which contains particles of fine
and coarse sand, providing a more open
structure. This helps the bricks to dry more
easily by allowing the water to evaporate
and increases the brick’s resistance to
thermal shock during the water smoking
period of firing. The VSBK is a natural draft
kiln, requiring no electricity for the supply
of combustion air, which enters from the
bottom of the kiln.
The VSBK technology may require
about 105 tons of coal per million bricks,
compared to the 160 tons of coal per million
bricks of BTK. For a shaft size of 1×2 m,
the VSBK has a production capacity of
about 8000 bricks per day with a specific
energy consumption of 0.8–0.9 MJ/kg of
fired bricks (at 11 batches per shaft height).
Compressive strengths of 12.5 to 30 MPa
for extruded bricks and 7.0 to 11.5 MPa
for hand-moulded bricks can be obtained.
More information on the construction of
VSBK can be found in Müller et al., 2013.
The practical steps to operate a Vertical
Shaft Brick Kiln are provided in Prajapati
and Maity, 2013.
Advantages of VSBK
The VSBK technology has two major
advantages: It is energy efficient and
consumes less fuel and has lower SPM
(suspended particulate matter) emissions. It
 Brick Kilns
saves about 25 to 40 percent of coal when
compared to a Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench
Kiln (FCBTK) and can reduce pollution by
70 percent when compared to FCBTK. It
provides cleaner working environment, with
lesser dust and smoke, thus minimizing
health hazards. It also requires less
space compared to other brick making
technologies. With a roof protection, the
kiln can be operated throughout the year.
It does not require external power source.
In addition, the bricks can be produced
according to the demand; when demand is
high, all the shafts can be operated, else,
only a limited number can be operated.
Once constructed, the kiln requires
very little maintenance, which makes it
economically viable.
Due to proper combustion of fuels, efficient
heat transfer and minimal heal losses,
VSBK is one of the most efficient brick kiln
technologies. It has low operating costs,
and is suitable for firing bricks of high
quality and specifications; for firing solid
bricks, and can also be used to fire bricks
with perforations. However, fast heating
and cooling of the bricks and high load
in the lower section of the brick stacking
can cause cracks and damage the bricks.
These factors may be prominent in the
case of hand-moulded bricks, which have
low density and low compressive strength,
but extruded and machine moulded bricks
result in a lower percentage of breakages.
VSBK is ideally suited in areas with good
clay soils. VSBK firing is sensitive to minor
changes in coal amount, stacking patterns
or unloading frequency. Any unintentional
changes of these parameters may affect
the quality of bricks. In 1996, the first
pilot VSBK was established at Datia in
Madhya Pradesh. This and other three
pilot projects in Kerala, Maharashtra, and
Orissa demonstrated the energy efficiency,
strong environmental performance, and
sustainable nature of this technology.
According to The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI), there are more than 40
VSBKs operational in India.
The Tunnel Kiln
Tunnel kiln is a continuous moving ware
kiln technology developed around the
mid-19th century in Germany, and widely
190 NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019
Figure 7: Schematic of tunnel kiln technology
adopted in several countries after the
Second World War. In India, there are less
than 10-tunnel brick kilns.
A tunnel kiln is a long horizontal tunnel of
60 to 150 m, in which green bricks are set
on “kiln cars” and are driven continuously
through a long stationary firing zone. The
kiln cars can be moved along the tunnel
continuously or at fixed intervals, with air
supply and extraction systems provided
at several points along the kiln structure.
Generally green bricks are produced by
mixing powdered fuel with clay. The firing
of bricks occurs at the central part of the
tunnel, where the bricks and air move in
opposite direction and the temperature is
regulated at 900-1300oC. The firing zone
usually extends up to 8 cars. The fuel
(granulated/pulverized coal) is fed into the
firing zone of the kiln through feed holes
provided in the kiln roof. The duration of
the firing cycle can range from 30 to 72
hours.
There are three distinct zones in the tunnel
kiln (Fig 7): firing zone where the fuel is fed
and combustion occurs; preheating zone
(in front of the firing zone) where the green
bricks are pre-heated by the hot flue gases
coming from the firing zone; and brick
cooling zone (at the exit end of the kiln)
where fired bricks are cooled by the cold
air flowing into the kiln.
There is counter current heat transfer in
the kiln between the bricks and the air.
Cold air enters from the exit end of the
kiln and gets heated while cooling the fired
bricks. After combustion, the hot flue gases
travel towards the car entrance end and
part of the heat is used to dry the green
bricks entering the kiln. Hot gases are
extracted from the tunnel kiln at several
points along the length of the kiln and are
supplied to the drying chamber. In some of
the kilns, there is also provision of a hot air
generator to supplement the requirement of
hot air for drying. The flue gases from the
drying part of the tunnel are released into
the atmosphere through a chimney.
Advantages of the Tunnel Kiln
Tunnel kilns are low in labour demand but
require high electricity and capital costs.
They can produce 42,000-50,000 bricks
per day; and the bricks require 3-5 days
for drying and firing to be completed. The
tunnel kiln is considered to be the most
advanced brick making technology. It
main advantages is its ability to fire a wide
variety of clay products, better control
over the firing process and high quality
of the products. It has a mechanized and
highly automated process, which results in
minimal emissions. Tunnel kiln emits ~80%
lower particulate matter and negligible
black carbon as compared to FCBTK. This
is mainly because of better combustion and
use of internal fuel. The emission of CO is
higher in the case of tunnel kiln probably
due to incomplete combustion of internal
fuel. Tunnel kiln can be used to fire all types
of products such as solid bricks, hollow/
perforated bricks, roof and floor tiles.
However, tunnel kiln is expensive to
construct, and requires reliable power/
electricity supply. In addition, the average
specific energy consumption (SEC) is
1.4 MJ/kg of fired bricks, which is slightly
higher as compared to other continuous
kiln technologies. This is mainly because
the SEC also includes the energy utilized
for the drying of bricks in the tunnel
dryer. The capital cost of tunnel kiln is
substantially higher as compared to FCBTK
mainly because of mechanization of brick
production processes and considerably
larger production.

Pollutants associated with clay brick firing
include (Akinshipe and Kornelius, 2017):
particulate matter (PM), Sulfur dioxide
(SO2), Sulfur trioxide (SO3); Nitrogen
oxides (NOx), (including nitrogen dioxide
(NO2) and nitrogen monoxide (NO),
Carbon monoxide (CO), Carbon dioxide
(CO2), metals such as Copper (Cu),
Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni),
Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe), and
Manganese (Mn), Fluorides and Organic
compounds (including methane, ethane,
volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
persistent organic compounds (POPs)
and some hazardous air pollutants such
as hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen
cyanide (HCN).
From a comparison of the different kiln
technologies (Table 1), it can be seen that
the tunnel kiln is expensive but produces
less pollution. The next best is the vertical
shaft brick kiln. Based on a study, Akinshipe
and Kornelius (2017) concluded that the
VSBK and the Zig-zag kilns have the lowest
potential for atmospheric pollution; while
the BTK and the DDK have the highest.
NBM&CW NOVEMBER 2019 191
Brick Kilns
Processes in Clay Brick Firing
Technologies and Associated
Atmospheric Emissions Metrics-A
Review”, Journal of Pollution
Effects & Control, Vol. 5, No.2,
2017, 12pp. doi: 10.4176/2375-
4397.1000190
2. Baum E., Black
Carbon from Brick Kilns, Clean
Air Task Force, Boston, MA,
7 April 2010, [www.catf.us/
resources/presentations/files/
Black_Carbon_from_Brick_Kilns.
pdf, accessed 23rd Nov. 2017].
3. Kumar, S. and Maithel, S.
Introduction to Brick Kilns &
Specific Energy Consumption
Protocol for Brick Kilns, Greentech
Knowledge Solutions Pvt.
Ltd., New Delhi, 2016, 26 pp.
[https://breathelife2030.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/09/12.pdf
-Accessed on 28th Nov. 2017]
4. Müller, H., Chhetri, P. and
Müller, T., VSBK Design Option
Guidelines, Swiss Resource
Centre and Consultancies for
It is estimated that in India, 74 percent of Development (SKAT), Sept. 2013,
total brick production is through BTKs and 60 pp [http://skat.ch/wp-content/
21 percent through Clamps. Based on the uploads/2017/01/VSBK.pdf -Accessed
direction from the Central Pollution Control 26th Nov. 2017]
Board in 1996 (with a deadline on June 5. Prajapati, S., and Maity, S., Vertical Shaft
2001) several MCBTKs were converted to Brick Kiln-Operation Manual, Practical
FCBTKs. Action, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2013, 53 pp.
References [http://www.ecobrick.in/resource_data/
KBAS100049.pdf - Accessed 26th Nov.
1. Akinshipe, O., and Kornelius. G.,
2017]
“Chemical and Thermodynamic
Dr. N. Subramanian, is a consulting engineer living in Maryland, USA.
He is former chief executive of Computer Design Consultants, India.
He has a doctorate from IITM, and also worked with the Technical
University of Berlin and the Technical University of Bundeswehr,
Munich for 2 years as Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He has more
than 45 years of professional experience which include consultancy,
research, and teaching. Serving as consultant to leading organizations,
he designed several multi-storey concrete buildings, steel towers, industrial buildings
and space frames. Dr Subramanian has contributed more than 265 technical papers
in National and International journals & seminars and published 25 books. He has also
been a reviewer for many Indian and international journals. He is a Member/Fellow of
several professional bodies, including the ASCE, ACI, ICI, ACCE (India) and Institution
of Engineers (India) and a past vice president of the Indian Concrete Institute and
Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India). He is a recipient of several awards
including the Tamilnadu Scientist award.