Curbing emissions: EPD, kiln owners mull energy efficient designs

Vertical shaft kiln found more efficient than existing Bull’s Trench.

LAHORE:

Brick kiln owners, Environment Protection Department (EPD) officials and non-government organisation (NGO) representatives on Thursday discussed several steps including a new kiln design to reduce environment pollution.

The Brick Kilns Owners’ Association agreed to visit a Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) setup by Techno Green Associates (TGA).

TGA chief executive Waseem Hashmi earlier briefed the participants about the VSBK design. “The design has been used in more than 50,000 brick kilns in China. Such kilns are also being built in India. It is environment-friendly compared to the Bull’s Trench model used in Pakistan as it allows a more efficient heat transfer, thereby lowering fuel consumption and production costs,” he said.

Hashmi said that most vertical shaft designs in China were mechanised. “The molding and loading of bricks in vertical shaft designs is mechanised, making it less labour intensive,” he said.

EPD Secretary Dr Muhammad Chauhan said that more research was needed on the practical application of the design.



“The EPD will only recommend the model after thorough research. If it does prove to be more environment-friendly and cost-effective, EPD can alter the terms of the no objection certificate (NOC) granted for constructing a kiln,” he said.

Chauhan said that solutions should also be put forward for kilns that were already functioning.

“It might be better to study environment-friendly models being used in India because soils are similar. Kiln owners should contact the Indian brick kiln owners’ associations,” he said.

Shoaib Khan Niazi, the Brick Kilns Owners’ Association chairman, said that the owners were ready to adopt a new design if it was as cost effective as claimed by Hashmi.

“We are also willing to visit India to look at the kiln designs being used there. Once we are satisfied with the practical aspects of a new design, the association will ask its members to adopt it. We will also support the EPD in changing the NOC requirements.

However, we have reservations about shifting from the manual design to a mechanical one because bricks produced in mechanical kilns do not sell in the Pakistani market,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2015.