A Comparative Study of Stack Emissions from Straight-Line and Zigzag Brick Kilns in Nepal

Sangeet Nepal,Sagar Adhikari,Sujan Shrestha,Kundan Shrestha,Prakash Sharma,Bidya Pradhan,Parth Mahapatra,Siva Puppala

doi:10.3390/atmos10030107

Sangeet Nepal, Sagar Adhikari + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10030107

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Abstract

Nepal has approximately 1000 operational brick kilns, which contribute significantly to ambient air pollution. They also account for 1.81% of the total bricks produced in the South Asian region. Little is known about their emissions, which are consequently not represented in regional/global emission inventories. This study compared emissions from seven brick kilns. Four were Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kilns (FCBTKs) and three were Induced-Draught Zigzag Kilns (IDZKs). The concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), black carbon (BC), and particulate matter (PM) with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) were measured. The respective emission factors (EFs) were estimated using the carbon mass balance method. The average fuel-based EF for CO2, SO2, PM2.5, and BC were estimated as 1633 ± 134, 22 ± 22, 3.8 ± 2.6 and 0.6 ± 0.2 g per kg, respectively, for all FCBTKs. Those for IDZKs were 1981 ± 232, 24 ± 22, 3.1 ± 1, and 0.4 ± 0.2 g per kg, respectively. Overall, the study found that converting the technology from straight-line kilns to zigzag kilns can reduce PM2.5 emissions by ~20% and BC emissions by ~30%, based on emission factor estimates of per kilogram of fuel. While considering per kilogram of fired brick, emission reductions were approximately 40% for PM2.5 and 55% for BC, but this definitely depends on proper stacking and firing procedures.

Highlights

In the majority of low–middle-income countries, brick kilns are one of the small-scale industries that are a prominent source of ambient air pollution, but which are often overlooked [1,2].With the rapid increase in urbanization and development, the demand for brick production is rising.lack of sound knowledge about the emissions from such sources often hinders the design of proper mitigation strategies and better representation in regional and global emission inventories [3,4].There have been clear, adverse health outcomes in populations residing in the immediate vicinity of the kilns [5]
Real-time temporal profiles of fuel-based emission factors (g/kg) of CO2, SO2, black carbon (BC), and PM2.5 are shown in Figure 4 for one particular kiln (FCBTK1)
Induced-Draught Zigzag Kilns (IDZKs) than in Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kilns (FCBTKs), while the mean brick weight was observed to be slightly higher in FCBTKs than in IDZKs

Summary

Introduction

In the majority of low–middle-income countries, brick kilns are one of the small-scale industries that are a prominent source of ambient air pollution, but which are often overlooked [1,2].With the rapid increase in urbanization and development, the demand for brick production is rising.lack of sound knowledge about the emissions from such sources often hinders the design of proper mitigation strategies and better representation in regional and global emission inventories [3,4].There have been clear, adverse health outcomes in populations residing in the immediate vicinity of the kilns [5]. In the majority of low–middle-income countries, brick kilns are one of the small-scale industries that are a prominent source of ambient air pollution, but which are often overlooked [1,2]. With the rapid increase in urbanization and development, the demand for brick production is rising. Lack of sound knowledge about the emissions from such sources often hinders the design of proper mitigation strategies and better representation in regional and global emission inventories [3,4]. In the context of Nepal, brick production rate has increased sharply by 87.5% between. Approximately 1000 brick kilns are operational in different parts of the country; these produce 6 billion bricks annually, representing 1.81% of all bricks produced in South

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