Bricks Industry in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the fourth largest brick producer in the world. The brick kilns are situated in all of the seven divisions of the country and in almost every district. Most are concentrated in the Greater Dhaka Region and particularly in Gabtali, Savar, Ashuliya, Keraniganj, Narshingdi, Gazipur and Manikganj, Barisal, Chittagong, Khulna, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Sylhet.

The demand and supply of bricks in Bangladesh is growing at 3 to 5 percent per year. There are about 7,000 brickfields in Bangladesh, each producing 30 lakh pieces of bricks per year. The annual growth rate in the brick sector has been estimated 2–3 percent annually for the next ten years. This sector also generates an employment of around 1 million people in which 85.00% is men and 15.00% is women. Investment in this sector was BDT 47.96 billion (USD 575.5 million in 2019 and sales value was estimated BDT 210.82 billion11 (USD 2.53 billion). The contribution of the brick sector to the country’s GDP is 1.00%. The banking sector has bumped up its lending to the construction sector on the back of the government’s mega project implementation spree.

Introduction to Zigzag Brick Kilns

Zigzag firing kiln is a moving fire kiln in which the fire moves in a closed rectangular circuit through the bricks stacked in the annular space between the outer and the inner wall of the kiln. It has many similarities with Fixed Chimney Bull’s Trench Kiln (FCBTK) technology; the main difference being the zigzag air flow path. The bricks are stacked in such a manner to guide the air flow in a zigzag path. Zigzag flow increases the air flow path length and turbulence in the air, thereby resulting in improved combustion & heat transfer rate and uniform temperature across the kiln cross section. Also, the long firing zone and fuel feeding practice improves the combustion efficiency of the kiln. The main innovation in natural draught zigzag kiln is that while traditionally zigzag firing was done with the assistance of fan draught, in this kiln the zigzag operation is achieved through the chimney draught. The main advantages of natural draft zigzag kilns are reduced energy consumption, reduced pollutant emissions and improved product quality.

As of February 2017, 4,227 out of the 6,646 brick kilns had been converted into 4,108 zig-zag or improved zigzag in Bangladesh. The remaining kilns are HHK and tunnel kilns.

These changes are attributed to financing schemes made available through banks and financial institutions facilitated by different projects, e.g., ADB, UNDP and World Bank.

M/S Mayer Doya Bricks

Due to sizeable domestic market, M/S Mayer Doya Bricks (MDB) has already been set up zigzag brick field at Baghmara, 10 Number Velumia Union,  Bhola Sadar, Bhola, Bangladesh with its 1100 decimals land.

Zigzag kiln technology has proved itself a worthy successor to the long-serving FCBTK technology. Both induced and natural draft zigzag kilns are more efficient. Zigzag brick field is technically feasible, financially rewarding, economically & commercially viable and less polluting and environment-friendly.

M/S Mayer Doya Bricks (MDB) is currently manufacturing different types of bricks via zigzag technology. They are manufacturing A-Grade, B-Grade and wastage bricks in the ongoing operations. The standard size of the bricks is 9×4.5×3 inches. The bricks are manufactured for seven (07) months a year which starts from October and ends in May which means the brick field runs during the summer and winter season. The brick field has 30 working days in a month and 210 days in a year. Working hours per day is eight (08) hours.

Main Features and Benefits of Zigzag Kiln

1. Foot-Print area of the kiln : 321,816 cubic feet/ 27,984 square feet.
2. Installed Manufacturing/Production Capacity : 70,000-80,000 PCS Per day
3. Operational season : 8 months
4. Type of Products : Solid Bricks
5. Size of the bricks : 9×4.5×3 inches
6. Weight of the dried green bricks : 3.35 kg
7. Weight of the Fired Bricks : 3.00 kg/brick
8. Firing Temperature : 950-1050 Degree Celsius
9. Type of fuel : Coal

 Advantages of Zigzag Technology

Performance of the Natural Draft Zigzag Kiln as compared to a FCBTK, the prevalent kiln technology:

The attainable sales are Daily BDT 0.40 mln, Monthly BDT 10.05 mln and Yearly BDT 120.54 mln.

 Total Land size of this project is 1,100 decimals where Project Shed and Building is total 24,700 square feet. This project is located at Baghmara, 10 Number Velumia Union, Bhola Sadar, Bhola, Bangladesh.