Fixed Chimney-Bulls Trench Kiln

Bulls Trench Kiln (BTK) was invented in England in 1887 by W.E. Bulls. He designed an arch-less version
of Hoffman kiln, now called BTK. It is circular or elliptical in shape. Bricks to be fired are arranged in a
trench and tall movable metal chimneys are placed on the brick setting. They are moved as the firing
progresses. Its greatest advantage is its low cost of construction. This type of kiln is most widely used in
Asian Countries of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Myanmar. It has very high
emissions which are dispersed over a wide area. The working conditions are also hazardous.
Due to these disadvantages, movable BTKs were banned. Fixed Chimney Bulls Trench Kiln (FC-BTK) is an
improvement from the movable chimney kilns. It has a permanent, fixed brick chimney over 30 metres
high. The chimney requires skilled bricklayers to construct and is costly to build. The kiln can only be
operated in continuous mode. It has no roof and cannot be used during the monsoon season. Fixed
chimney kilns are more efficient than movable chimney kilns as they consume less fuel hence, less
emissions.
Further efforts are being made to reduce the emissions from FC-BTK. The efforts mainly looked at
introducing incremental changes in technical details and firing practices to improve operational
efficiencies. One major change was the introduction of gravity settling chamber to reduce pollution.
Other innovations include:

Use of energy saving additives

Improved storage of coal

Reduced size of coal

Smaller size of spoon used for coal feeding

Zig-Zag feeding pattern

Reduced feeding interval

Higher chimney height

Better air flow and supply through changes in brick setting pattern

Increased combustion zone

Efficient use of damper and its operation

Arresting heat losses through simple measures

Pattern of stacking in curves

M/S Jai Kamal Bricks, Danapur, Bihar

Summary
Fixed Chimney kilns are prevalent in Danapur area.
Around 80 FC-BTKs are operational in the area.
Kamal Bricks was established in Chitnava, Danapur,
Patna in 1992. This fixed chimney unit is operating
on the banks of river Ganga in an area of 3 acres
which has been leased at the rate of Rs 40,000 per
year

Plant: Kamal Bricks, Chitnava, Danapur,

Patna
Year of Establishment: 1992
Production Capacity: 40 lakhs/ season
Brick Size: 1053
Brick weight: 3.50 kg
Brick Price: Rs. 3.50/ brick
Man Power: 40
Owner: Mr. Vinay Singh

Raw Materials

Soil: This unit required 140 cft of soil per 1000 bricks. It was acquired at the rate of Rs 400 per
cft (including transportation costs) from an area 20 km away.
External Fuel: 0.1 tonnes of coal was required for firing 1000 bricks. Coal was sourced from
Ghato (Hazaribagh) at the rate of Rs 4000 per tonne.
Sand: 12 cft of sand was required for 1000 bricks which were acquired at the rate of Rs 400. This
included Rs 200 transportation costs.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of green bricks, firing and sorting of
burnt bricks. After the production of green bricks by moulding, firing process takes place in Fixed
Chimney- Bulls Trench Kiln (FC-BTK). Approximately 40 lakh bricks are produced in one season with the
help of 40 labourers. These bricks are sold at the rate of Rs 3500 per 1000 bricks. 20% breakage was
observed in these bricks.

M/S MKS Bricks, Fatwa, Bihar

Summary
MKS is the leading brick kiln in Fatwah, Patna. It was
established in 2009. This unit has a fixed chimney kiln
with a Hawa Bhatta. Hawa bhatta is a fan which acts as
an exhaust. The Patna region is a huge market for bricks
with the highest price being paid in this area. For A-grade
brick they charged Rs.5, 200 per 1000 bricks and other
kilns charged Rs. 5,000 per 1,000 bricks.

Plant: MKS Bricks, Fatwa, Patna

Year of Establishment: 2009
Production Capacity: 80 lakhs/ season
Brick Size: 1053
Brick weight: 4.00 kg
Brick Price: Rs. 4.30/ brick
Man Power: 100

Raw Materials

Soil: This unit requires 140 cft of soil per 1000 bricks. It was acquired at the rate of Rs 400 per cft
(including transportation costs) from an area 20 km away.
External Fuel: 0.1 tonnes of coal was required for firing 1000 bricks. Coal was sourced from
Ghato (Hazaribagh) at the rate of Rs 4000 per tonne.
Sand: 12 cft of sand was required for 1000 bricks which were acquired at the rate of Rs 400 per
tractor. This included transportation costs as well.

Equipment Details
This unit has a hawa bhatta. Its basically a fan which acts as an exhaust,
thus helping in proper energy utilization of the kiln. It accounts for 30-40%
less fuel consumption than the conventional fixed chimney kilns. They
also have a pug mill for mixing of raw materials.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of
green bricks, firing and sorting of burnt bricks. Raw materials were mixed in a pug mill. After the
production of green bricks by moulding, firing process takes place in Fixed Chimney- Bulls Trench Kiln
(FC-BTK). 100 labourers were employed for the production process. Approximately 80 lakh bricks are
produced in one season. These bricks are sold at the rate of Rs 4300 per 1000 bricks. 15% breakage was
observed in these bricks.

M/S Rana Bricks, Fatwa, Bihar

Summary
Mr. Jagat Prasad has been engaged in the brick making
business since 1995. He has a fixed chimney kiln in the
Fatwa region of Patna. This unit is situated near the river
Ganga occupying 6 acres of land. These bricks are sold
with the brand name Rana Bricks.

Plant: Rana Bricks, Fatwa, Patna

Year of Establishment: 1995
Production Capacity: 20 lakhs/ season
Brick Size: 1053
Brick weight: 3.50 kg
Brick Price: Rs. 4.00/ brick
Man Power: 40
Owner: Mr. Jagat Prasad

Raw Materials

Soil: This unit required 140 cft of soil per 1000 bricks. It was acquired at the rate of Rs 400 per
cft (including transportation costs) from an area 20 km away.
External Fuel: 0.4 tonnes of coal was required for firing 1000 bricks. Coal was sourced from
Ghato (Hazaribagh) at the rate of Rs 4100 per tonne.
Sand: 12 cft of sand was required for 1000 bricks which were acquired at the rate of Rs 400. This
included Rs 200 transportation costs.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of green bricks, firing and sorting of
burnt bricks. After the production of green bricks by moulding, firing process takes place in Fixed
Chimney- Bulls Trench Kiln (FC-BTK). Approximately 20 lakh bricks are produced in one season with the
help of 40 labourers. These bricks are sold at the rate of Rs 4000 per 1000 bricks. 15% breakage was
observed in these bricks.

M/S Suraj Bricks, Fatwa, Bihar

Summary
Mr. Sanjiv Singh established his fixed chimney kiln in 1990
after realizing that the demand of red bricks is huge in the
Fatwa region of Patna. His vast experience of more than 20
years helps him to handle all the processes exceptionally.

Plant: M/S Suraj Bricks, Fatwa, Patna

Year of Establishment: 1990
Production Capacity: 40 lakhs/ season
Brick Size: 1053
Brick weight: 3.50 kg
Brick Price: Rs. 2.80/ brick
Man Power: 57
Owner: Mr. Sanjiv Singh

Raw Materials

Soil: This unit requires 140 cft of soil per 1000 bricks. It was acquired at the rate of Rs 400 per
tractor (including transportation costs) from an area 20 km away.

External Fuel: 0.3 tonnes of coal was required for firing 100 bricks. Coal was sourced from Ghato
(Hazaribagh) at the rate of Rs 4000 per ton.

Sand: 12 cft of sand was required for 1000 bricks which were acquired at the rate of Rs 400 per
tractor including Rs 200 as transportation costs

Equipment Details
This unit has a pug mill for mixing for raw materials.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of green bricks, firing and sorting of
burnt bricks. The raw materials are mixed using a pug mill. Green bricks are produced by moulding.
Firing of green bricks takes place in Fixed Chimney- Bulls Trench Kiln (FC-BTK). Approximately 40 lakh
bricks are produced in one season. These bricks are sold at the rate of Rs 2800 per 1000 bricks. 20%
breakage was observed in these bricks. 57 labourers were employed for the overall process out of which
26 were involved in moulding, 25 in loading and 6 in firing process.

M/S Tridev Bricks, Fatwa, Patna

Summary
Mr. Gappu Singh established his brick making business in
1991. He invested Rs.30 lakhs in fixed chimney kiln with
fan called Hawa Bhattha. There are 3 hawa bhattas
already present in the Fatwa region.

Raw Materials
Soil: Its obtained from the banks of river Ganga
at the rate of Rs. 400 per tractor. This unit
required 140 cft of soil per 1000 bricks.

Plant: Tridev Bricks, Fatwa, Patna

Year of Establishment: 1995
Production Capacity: 30 lakhs/ season
Brick Size: 1053
Brick weight: 4.00 kg

External Fuel: Coal was obtained from Ghato

(Hazaribagh) at the rate of Rs. 4000 per ton. This
unit required 0.1 ton of coal per 1000 bricks.

Brick Price: Rs. 4.30/ brick

Sand: It was obtained at the rate of Rs. 400 per

tractor. This unit required 12cft of sand per 1000
bricks.

Owner: Mr. Gappu Singh

Man Power: 57

Equipment Details
In these kilns they use a fan connected with chimney which
is run by the generator (25 HP) using diesel or electricity.
The fan acts as an exhaust, thus helping in proper energy
utilization in the kiln. It reduces 30-40% of the coal
consumption into the kiln. In other fixed kilns, coal
consumption is about 40 tonnes/lakh bricks but in fan
technique, 12 tonnes coal is sufficient for the production of
1 lakh bricks.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of green bricks, firing and sorting of
burnt bricks. After the green bricks are produced by moulding, firing process takes place in the fixed
chimney kiln with the hawa bhatta. 57 labourers were employed. This unit has a production capacity of
30,000 (approx.) bricks per day. These bricks were sold at the rate of Rs 4300 per 1000 bricks.

M/S Yadav bricks, Jharsuguda, Odisha

Summary
Mr. Peter has been producing bricks by fixed chimney kiln
for the past 15 years in Jharsuguda, Orissa. Unfortunately,
there are 20 fixed chimney kilns in the area operating
without any pollution control certification while a few
have certifications.

Plant: M/S Yadav Bricks, Jharsuguda, Odisha.

Year of Establishment: 1985
Production Capacity: 30,000 bricks/day
Brick Size: 943

Raw Materials

Soil: It was obtained from an area 3-4 km away

from the unit. Rs. 8000 per lakh bricks was paid as
mining royalty and Rs. 300 per tractor for
transportation of soil.
External Fuel: Coal was sourced from
Brajrangnagar, 30-40 km away from the unit and
Gopalpur, 60-70 km away at the rate of Rs. 3000
per ton.

Brick weight: 3.0 kg

Brick Price: Rs. 3.00/ brick
Man Power: For Firing - 6, Machine Moulding
- 8, & Loading 6
Owner: Mr. Peter

Equipment Details
This unit has recently acquired TARA brick making machine for moulding
purposes.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of
green bricks, firing and sorting of burnt bricks. Green bricks are moulded
with the help of TARA brick making machine. 8 labourers are employed
for this process. Bricks are loaded into the kiln for firing. 6 labourers are
employed for loading purposes. Firing process occurs in the fixed chimney
kiln with the help of 6 labourers. This unit produces 30,000-35,000 bricks
per day are produced in the season.

M/S NXN Brick Enterprises, Sambalpur, Odisha

Summary
Rourkela has a large number of brick kilns due to high
demand of bricks in the construction sector. Mr. Uttam
Sharma has been running a fixed chimney kiln for the past
16 years in Sambalpur, Odisha. The bricks produced from
this unit are directly sold in the market.

Plant: M/S NXN Brick Enterprises, Sambalpur,

Odisha
Year of Establishment: 1984
Production Capacity: 30,000 bricks/day
Brick Size: 943
Brick weight: 3.00 kg
Brick Price: Rs. 3.00/ brick
Man Power: 60
Owner: Mr Uttam Sharma

Raw Materials

Soil: This unit obtained soil from an area 3 to 4 km away from the unit. They had to pay Rs. 7000
as mining royalty. Soil was transported at the rate of Rs 300 per tractor.

External Fuel: Coal was sourced from Brajrangnagar at the rate of Rs. 3300/ton with
transportation.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of green bricks, firing and sorting of
burnt bricks. After the production of green bricks by hand moulding, they are fired in the fixed chimney
kiln. 30,000-40,000 bricks can be produced per day in a season. This unit produces approximately 10,
00,000 bricks in 3-4 months. 60 labourers were employed for the production process.

M/S Uma Brick Industries, Sambalpur, Odisha

Summary
Mr. Venudhar Tripathi started M/S Uma Bricks Industry in
1984. He has a FC-BTK with the production capacity 6 to 7
lakhs bricks in a season. This unit has a great market in
Sambalpur and is mainly used in construction business.

Raw Materials

Soil: Soil was sourced from an area 4-5 km away for

which the unit had to pay Rs 7000 as mining royalty
and Rs 200 for 100 cft with transportation cost.

Plant: M/S Uma Brick Industries, Sambalpur,

Odisha
Year of Establishment: 1984
Production Capacity: 650,000 bricks/ season
Brick Size: 94.53
Brick weight: 5 kg
Brick Price: Rs. 3.30/ brick

External Fuel: Coal was obtained from Brajrang

Nagar at the rate of Rs. 2,800 /ton. The coal
consumption of the unit is 30 tonnes for one lakh
brick.

Man Power: For Firing - 4, Machine Moulding

- 70, & Loading 15
Owner: Mr. Venudhar Tripathi

Sand: The unit consumed 50 cft of sand for 1000

bricks which was bought at the rate of Rs. 266 per 100 cft with transportation.

Production Process
The main steps followed for brick production are moulding, drying of green
bricks, firing and sorting of burnt bricks. Green bricks are produced by hand
moulding. Firing process takes place in Fixed Chimney- Bulls Trench Kiln
(FC-BTK). In one season, 30,000-35,000 bricks are produced per day.
Approximately 6, 50,000 bricks produced in one season. 70 labourers are
employed in this unit for moulding at the rate Rs. 350 for 1000 bricks. 4
labourers are used for firing and 15 for the purpose of loading and
unloading of the bricks and mixing of raw materials.