Brick-kilns only with zigzag tech allowed to operate

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 10

An expert committee of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recommended that only those brick-kilns that have converted to the zigzag technology would be allowed to function in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The recommended technology is cleaner and more efficient.

It’s efficient

In zigzag kilns, bricks are arranged to allow hot air to travel in a zigzag path. The length of the zigzag air path is about three times that of a straight line, and this improves the heat transfer from the fuel gases to the bricks, making the entire operation more efficient.

The CPCB’s recommendation implies that more than 600 brick-kilns based on the Fixed Chimney Bull Trench Kiln (FCBTK) technology in the NCR area of Haryana face closure.

The FCBTK brick-kilns cause more air pollution that the ones where the zigzag technology is used.

The committee’s February 9 report has been submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

It states that of the 2,163 brick-kilns in the NCR, 1,543 (71.3 per cent) have made the shift. The remaining 620 could face closure.

In Uttar Pradesh, 1,024 brick-kilns out of 2,215 (45.2 per cent) have adopted the technology, while in Rajasthan percentage is 84.7.

Besides, the five-member expert committee, constituted by the CPCB on the NGT’s directions, says the “permission to operate brick-kilns in winters must be subjected to the restrictions” to control the concentration of the particulate matter in the ambient air environment of the Delhi-NCR region.