Techno-economic feasibility study on the application of downdraft gasifier in small-scale red clay bricks industries

Direct firing of biomass in conventional clay brick manufacturing process aggravates deforestation, climatic change, poor economic benefits to rural industries, and health issues to the public. To overcome such drawbacks, adaptation of eco-friendly energy sources, implementation of advanced technologies in energy conversion systems and systematic studies on economic benefits are mainly focused in recent times. The utilization of biomasses through various gasification technologies can improve the energy efficiency and economic advantages of brick production. To successfully introduce renewable energy systems and new technologies in rural areas, a number of research studies have experimented and also succeeded in predicting the technical feasibility and cost benefits. Likewise, this paper reports the techno-economic analysis of producer gas (PG) fired brick kilns using pertinent parameters of evaluation involved in the manufacturing of bricks. In this study, the common biomasses available in the region were effectively used to produce PG. Besides finding the technical aspects of bricks produced through this method, the parameters needed for economic study were found from a prototype experimental study. The economic parameters to use agriculture and forestry biomasses such as Coconut Shell (CS), Rice Husk (RH), Rubber Wood (RW) and Rubber seed kernel shell (RSKS) in conventional industries for a capacity of twenty to one hundred thousand bricks per batch were predicted. The studies revealed that the quality of bricks produced from the proposed method could meet ASTM standards. The savings in the running cost of the proposed system led to 4-8 years payback period. The maximum internal rate of return was found from the system which had RSKS as feedstock.