Energy-efficient intervention can cut emissions in brick industry : Study

To increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions in the brick manufacturing industry by encouraging operational changes could reduce 23-percent energy use and 20-percent reductions in CO? and PM2.5 emissions, a study said. 

Brick manufacturing is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, as the practice releases carbon dioxide (CO?), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and other contaminants into the environment. 

Notably, the researchers estimated that the social benefits due CO2 reductions from the intervention outweighed costs by a factor of 65 to 1 and that the CO2 reductions were achieved at the low cost of $2.85/ton. When the team returned to participating brick kilns the next year, they found adoption of the improved practices had not only sustained but increased. 

A new study by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), Stanford University, icddr,b, Greentech Knowledge Solutions, and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology has introduced the evidence-based strategy proven to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions in the brick manufacturing industry by encouraging operational changes that prioritize practicality and profit.  

"Our findings demonstrate that brick kiln owners are willing to embrace simple changes that protect human and environmental health when they have the knowledge and training, and those changes deliver tangible economic gain," said study lead and corresponding author Dr. Nina Brooks, assistant professor of global health at BUSPH. The brick kiln industry accounts for 17 percent of CO? emissions and 11 percent of PM2.5 emissions each year.

Existing regulations, such as fuel mandates that ban the use of firewood, or laws that require brick kilns to be distanced from schools, health facilities, and other establishments, are only minimally enforced; for example, the majority of brick kilns in Bangladesh are located illegally near schools. 

"From what I've seen in brick kilns, the people working there really make all the difference," says study coauthor Mr. Debashish Biswas, assistant scientist at icddr,b in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It's not just about the technology or the strategies-if the workers aren't taken care of, things just don't run smoothly. I think there is a real opportunity to find ways where looking after workers actually helps the business, too, even if the rules aren't always enforced. Owners and workers both stand to gain if we can figure that out." 

The study found that brick kiln owners were willing to implement energy-efficient operational changes after receiving training and support. The social benefits of reduced carbon emissions from these changes outweighed costs by a factor of 65 to 1. 

"The study analyzes the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that showed that brick kiln owners in Bangladesh are willing and able to implement cleaner and more efficient business practices within their operations-without legal enforcement-if they receive the proper training and support, and if those changes are aligned with their profit motives," the report has said.

The RCT evaluated an intervention that provided educational resources, training, and technical support to kiln owners in Bangladesh during the 2022-2023 brick kiln season with 276 brick kilns. The intervention aimed to motivate the owners to make energy-efficient adjustments to their manufacturing process, such as streamlining brick stacking and using powered biomass fuel, both of which improve complete fuel combustion and reduce heat loss in the kilns. 

"The remarkable success of the intervention demonstrates the benefit of deep engagement with local stakeholders," says co-senior author Dr. Stephen Luby, Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.