Assessment of brick kiln technologies of Bangladesh

Abstract

Brick manufacturing is the fastest-growing industrial sector in Bangladesh. With about 7,000 operating kilns, brick-making sector is contributing about 1 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and generating employment for about 1 million people. Despite the importance of the brick sector, about 90 percent of kilns use outdated, energy-intensive technologies that are highly polluting. New technologies such as Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK), Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) and Tunnel Kiln (TK) are substantially cleaner than Fixed Chimney Kiln (FCK) and consume less energy and emit lower levels of pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, the use of these technologies in Bangladesh is still in the preliminary stage of implementation, their financial viability (compared with that of the FCK) still needs to be demonstrated. The objective of this research was to get a priority ranking of different brick kiln technology by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) which would give a specific result for thinking about installation of new technologies in Bangladesh perspective. For analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis, a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model, we have considered five main attributes/criteria: Product Quality (PQ), Fuel Efficiency (FE), Environmental Effect (EF), Labour Intensity (LI), Investment (I) and four alternatives: Improved Zigzag Kiln (IZigzag) Technology, Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) Technology, Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) Technology, Tunnel Kiln (TK) Technology. For Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), Cost and Benefit are determined for four alternatives: Improved Zigzag Kiln (IZigzag) Technology, Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) Technology, Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) Technology and Tunnel Kiln (TK) Technology. Based on the result which is found from the Technology Assessment evaluation and Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), it would be determined that which brick kiln technology should be given highest preference in the perspective of Bangladesh.