Start a Common fired clay brick making Business

Start a Common fired clay brick making Business

Common fired clay brick is one of the important building materials in India. Bricks are  used as walling material in most residential and commercial buildings. They are also used for other applications, e.g. road and canal construction. India is the second largest producer of bricks in the world, and is next only to China in terms of brick production. An estimated 140 billion bricks were produced during the year 2000–01. Brick production is estimated to be growing at a rate of 4% per year. Bricks are produced at village and rural enterprise levels. The sizes of brick units are much smaller in the rural areas. However, in peri-urban areas, the size of brick producing units is much larger, and clustering of  brick making units is quite common. Regional variations are also observed in the size and scale of the brick production units. The total number of brick making units is estimated at around 100,000. Traditional technologies are used for brick production. In general, bricks are hand moulded, sun dried and fired in a kiln. The entire process of brick making is manual and estimated to provide employment to 8 million workers. Technologies used Bull’s trench kilns (BTKs) and clamps are two prominent firing technologies used for brick making in India. The BTK is a continuous type kiln and has higher production capacities (15,000–50,000 bricks per day). It also has better energy efficiency compared to clamps. BTKs account for 70% of the total brick production in the country. Coal is the main fuel used in BTKs. The specific energy consumption in firing bricks in BTKs ranges between 1.1 and 1.6 MJ/kg of fired brick. Clamps are used for smaller production levels. A variety of fuels such as coal, firewood, various types of agricultural residues and dung cakes are used in clamps. Large variations are observed in the shape, size, stacking of bricks and firing techniques in clamps. Generally, energy efficiencies of clamps are lower. The specific energy consumption of clamps ranges between 1.5 and 3.0 MJ/kg of fired brick. Energy use in brick firing Brick firing is an energy-intensive process. The annual estimated coal consumption by the brick industry is 24 million tonnes, which represents around 8% of the total coal consumption in India. Besides coal, the Indian brick industry also consumes a large quantity of biomass fuels. The share of fuel in the total production cost of bricks is in the range of 35% to 50%. The total estimated expenditure on fuel by the Indian brick industry is in excess of one billion USD (1 USD= Rs 50). Concerns in the brick sector Stack emissions are a major source of air pollution by the brick industry. The brick industry also uses up good quality top soil from agricultural fields. The unplanned and unregulated exploitation of good quality agriculture soil for brick making is a major area of concern. Production of 140 billion bricks per year (year 2000-01 estimates) requires around 540 million tonnes of soil. The depth of excavation is shallow and usually ranges from 0.5 – 2 metres. Assuming an average depth of excavation of 0.75 m, around 500 sq. km of agriculture land is adversely affected by brick production every year. The Indian brick industry produces mainly one product, i.e. red coloured, hand moulded, solid bricks. For long-term sustainability of the industry, it is important to diversify the product range and move towards products that are less resource intensive and fulfil market requirements. Production of less resource intensive clay products and use of alternate building materials can result in significant conservation of top soil. Barriers The barriers that are responsible for stagnation of the Indian brick sector are also inhibiting technology upgradation. The major barriers identified in the Indian brick sector are as follows: (i) Policy The existing codes and specifications for building materials are based on traditional brick making and do not meet modern practices and technologies. With the availability of new building materials, these codes and specifications need to be reviewed and modified for large scale production and end-use. (ii) Financial There is lack of awareness and knowledge among brick kiln entrepreneurs necessary to prepare project reports/ documents for seeking loans from financial institutions/ banks. The credit-worthiness of brick kiln entrepreneurs is also not very favourably viewed by banks. At present, there is no tailor-made financial instrument available to brick kiln entrepreneurs for investing in technology upgradation. Higher transaction costs are envisaged by individual brick kiln entrepreneurs for developing markets for resource efficient bricks. These financial barriers are responsible for brick kiln entrepreneurs not investing in technology upgradation and by banks related activities. (iii) Business skills  The majority of the brick kiln entrepreneurs use traditional methods of green brick production, brick firing and marketing. They lack capacities in regard to modern practices in marketing, business opportunities and kiln management. There is also lack of trained manpower to cope with new technology changes. (iv) Technology There is limited availability of technology know-how for resource efficient bricks, as very few technology providers are available in the country. With brick kiln operations in India generally being carried out at the small scale level, individual brick kiln entrepreneurs find it difficult to access such know-how. (v) Awareness barrier The present level of awareness of entrepreneurs and end-users on modern technologies (machineries) and building products is low. The benefits from the production of resource efficient bricks - such as energy savings, reduction in top soil consumption and air pollution - are also not well known to brick entrepreneurs. The end-users such as builders, architects, etc. too lack information on the benefits of using REBs in building construction (insulation properties of REBs, saving in mortar during construction,                      etc.).  Project Rationale Use of obsolete technologies and use of solid bricks with traditional practices are seen as major threats to the Indian brick industry. Under the business-as-usual scenario, Indian brick industry will continue to operate with traditional technologies and practices, which are poor in energy efficiency and environmental performance as well as resources-intensive. The following have been identified as major problems faced by the Indian brick industry: Limited information on resource efficient technologies Lack of resource efficient model brick kiln units at cluster levels Non-availability of trained manpower Limited access to finance Unexplored market for alternate building products Old specifications and codes for building material Non-availability of institutional mechanism. The project preparatory phase clearly indicated several opportunities in the Indian brick industry to improve resource efficiencies and promote production of resource efficient bricks such as perforated bricks, hollow blocks and fly ash bricks. This would require significant changes and upgradation in the existing brick making processes, for which ready-made solutions are not available. Project Strategy The project has planned to undertake interventions in all regions of the country, i.e. North, East, West, South, and North East. The project interventions would help in introducing ‘Resource Efficient Brick’ (REB) products such as hollow blocks, perforated bricks and fly ash bricks in different regions of the country. This will lead to switch over from the traditional hand moulding method to the use of machinery (mechanization or semi-mechanization) by the brick kiln units. What are REBs? REBs are products that consume less energy and resources for their production than traditional fired clay bricks, and also have better quality and insulation properties. There are different types of REBs, such as perforated bricks, hollow blocks and fly ash bricks. Project Implementation In order to reach out to various regions and brick clusters, the project has set up Local Resource Centres (LRCs) in different regions of the country, i.e. North, South, East, West and North-East. The activities of the LRCs encompass the following: Create awareness among architects, builders, other end-users and government departments in order to facilitate the uptake of REBs. Prepare and disseminate promotional material on REBs. Establish facts such as strengths and properties of various REB products. Facilitate adoption of REB technologies (both mechanization and semi-mechanization) by interested entrepreneurs Prepare DPRs (detailed project reports) for availing loans from financial institutions and banks. Why REBs are Important? Traditional brick manufacture uses up huge quantities of top soil and fuels. It is becoming increasingly difficult for brick entrepreneurs to tackle the challenges posed by the growing scarcity or non-availability of top soil in their vicinity, escalating fuel prices, and difficulty in finding workers. At the same time, the construction sector is witnessing an increasing use of products such as REBs that offer better qualities than traditional bricks in certain parameters. Present day constructions usually have RCC (reinforced concrete cement) columns, with bricks mainly used as partition walls. Unlike earlier, bricks are no longer being used as load bearing walls in the majority of buildings. Traditional brick manufacture uses up huge quantities of top soil and fuels. It is becoming increasingly difficult for brick entrepreneurs to tackle the challenges posed by the growing scarcity or non-availability of top soil in their vicinity, escalating fuel prices, and difficulty in finding workers. At the same time, the construction sector is witnessing an increasing use of products such as REBs that offer better qualities than traditional bricks in certain parameters. Present day constructions usually have RCC (reinforced concrete cement) columns, with bricks mainly used as partition walls. Unlike earlier, bricks are no longer being used as load bearing walls in the majority of buildings. Advantages of REBs REBs offer a number of advantages in production as well as end-use applications. These include the following. Uniform product size and better finish Low water absorption (<10%) Improved crushing strength of extruded products (300 to 350 kg/cm2) Resource savings – energy (up to 20%), and top soil (up to 30%) Reduction in masonry costs and plaster requirements Reduced cooling/heating load requirements. Project Outcomes The following outcomes are envisaged through the various activities proposed under the project: Enhancing public sector awareness on resource-efficient products Access to finance for brick kiln entrepreneurs Improved knowledge on technology, including marketing Availability of resource efficient technology models in five clusters through Local Resource Centres Improved capacity of brick kiln entrepreneurs Project Outputs Higher energy efficiency in brick production Improved resource efficiency and reduced land degradation Reduced local and cluster level pollution High level of awareness among various stakeholders Additional benefits:Improvements in building efficiency with reduction in heating and cooling loads, due to the air gaps in resource efficient bricks Reduced drudgery and improved health of moulders and other workers.

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