Mass and Energy Utilization in Masonry Brick Production - Assignment Example

Masonry Brick Production Mass and Energy Utilization in Masonry Brick Production Energy is a vital resource in virtually every industry, since it propels different operations or production processes. Without energy, these processes would malfunction, rendering an industry ineffective and incapable of meeting production quotas. Energy utilization within an industry can best be established through evaluation of production processes. In Masonry Brick Production, the energy consumed can be discerned from distinctive phases of manufacturing bricks. These steps include extraction, crushing and grinding, shaping, drying, firing, and packaging. It is imperative to understand the activities that take place during these brick production stages, in order to ascertain energy usage in the entire process. During the extraction phase, natural material meant to make bricks, that is, shale or clay is obtained from pits at the manufacturing site (TBA2014). Limited transportation is required to move material from the extraction site to the processing location. This means that the largest proportion of energy used in this stage is limited to fuel used by extraction machines. In the subsequent phase involving crushing and grinding, the raw materials undergo processing in crushers, where particle size is significantly reduced. Resultant material is transported to secondary crushers for screening and finer grinding to the appropriate particle size. Diesel or another form of fuel is necessary to provide energy for crushers, while electricity is necessary during this phase to guarantee smooth running of conveyors. During the shaping phase, clay is mixed with water, hence need for energy for the mixers. The mixture is then molded by extrusion or compression in a steel die box, where it forms the finished shape of bricks. Electricity is the primary source of energy in compressing machines. The two stages that follow shaping consume the greatest percentage of energy. The drying phase for example, precedes firing since water must be extracted from the shaped bricks. Masonry Brick Production makes use of contemporary kiln cars, which go through dryers, fuelled either by electrical energy or thermal energy, derived from burning coal or other fossil fuels. Most of the water in the material mixture is evaporated in drying chambers at a temperature ranging between 400C to 2000C. The brick drying duration ranges between 24 and 48 hours, varying on the basis of type of shale or clay. Even though this heat could be generated purposely for drying chambers, it is primarily sourced from exhaust heat generated by firing kilns in an effort to maximize energy efficiency. The other energy intensive step in brick processing is firing. Just like in preceding phases, thermal and electrical energy is necessary to fire the kilns to temperatures ranging from 10000C to 12000C, based on material class and type. The final packaging phase primarily requires electrical energy to run machines that arrange bricks in packs and strap them together, as well as, conveyors to move packaged bricks to the storage area. It is evident that the different phases of brick production cycle require both electrical and thermal energy. However, the production process phases of extraction, crushing and grinding, shaping, and packaging consume a relatively small proportion of thermal energy, ranging from 0 to 5% of all the energy required per brick production cycle (Kermeli, Worrell & Masanet, 2011). The residual 95% of thermal energy is consumed by drying and firing stages. This implies that, the energy consumed in production of bricks is primarily used in drying and firing. Even though the exact amount of energy consumed varies on the basis of brick production volume, and mass of raw materials, there is a standard formula that can be used for computation purposes, as described hereunder. Total energy used (MJ) = mass of fuel (kg) x net calorific value of the fuel (MJ/kg); Drying energy (MJ) = wet mass of bricks minus dry mass of green bricks x energy required to evaporate water (2.591 MJ/kg); Firing energy (MJ) = total energy (MJ) – drying energy (MJ); Mass of fired brick (kg) = average fired mass (kg taken on a sample of at least 24 bricks x number of bricks fired; Specific firing energy (MJ/kg) = firing energy (MJ)/mass of fired brick (kg) The line diagram below further illustrates energy consumption in the masonry brick production industry. References Kermeli, K., Worrell, E., & Masanet, E. (2011). Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Concrete Industry: Guide for Energy and Plant Managers. Retrieved from http://www.energystar.gov/buildings/sites/default/uploads/tools/Energy_Efficieny_Improvement_Cost_Saving_Opportunities_Concrete.pdf Think Brick Australia (TBA) (2014). Sustainability and Energy Efficiency. Retrieved from http://thinkbrick.com.au/system/resources/W1siZiIsIjIwMTQvMDMvMTIvMTZfMzJfNDZfMjA5X1RCQV9NYW51YWxfMDhfU3VzdGFpbmFiaWxpdHlfYW5kX0VuZXJneV9FZmZpY2llbmN5LnBkZiJdXQ/TBA-Manual-08-Sustainability-and-Energy-Efficiency.pdf Energy Management Philosophy at a Masonry Brick Production Plant Given the volatility of contemporary energy markets, increasing competition, and heightened global efforts to regulate gas emissions, it has become imperative for brick manufacturers to take into account energy management and enhanced efficiency, as an unexplored opportunity. It is imperative to take note of the fact that, if energy efficiency is made an integral part of the brick manufacturing establishment’s corporate environmental strategy, it could aid extensively in reducing emissions and other pollutants from the industrial plant. Nonetheless, this would require establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive energy management philosophy (Demir & Orhan, 2003). The first step towards achieving the latter is to set objectives that the projected energy management framework would achieve. For instance, the energy management philosophy will focus on minimizing environmental degradation caused by the brick manufacturing process. The other goal of the prospective philosophy is to protect personnel health, improve environmental outcomes, and make sure that the industrial plant complies with all relevant safeguard policies. After clearly defining the objectives of the energy management philosophy, the subsequent step would involve establishing awareness programs to communicate the goals and justification of enhanced energy efficiency to stakeholders pertinent to the brick production process. When establishing energy management philosophy in the industrial plant, there are different factors that are precise to the industry performance that should be considered. For instance, it is imperative to consider tolerance risk of the philosophy in terms of procurement and energy supply cost. This will assist in the management of the current energy management competence in the organization. Additionally, it is imperative to evaluate the commitment degree depicted for energy management. This is because the established philosophy should be committed towards reducing energy usage and consumption. Therefore, the philosophy should include protocols that should be used to measure energy consumption, as well as the emissions. This is why the energy management philosophy should include standard reporting aspects which should allow comparisons across the facilities environmental policies as well as compliance with other government rules and regulations (Rudramoorthy & Sunil Kumar, 2001). The other imperative thing that should be put into consideration is personnel training. The employees should be encouraged to further their personal development via training programs that are provided by organizations in order to meet the specific individual needs. Such training will assist the employees to have a strong commitment in energy efficiency by appointing qualified persons for energy management. The philosophy should also have a plan that will assist in improving energy management and make it an important part of the organizational culture and strategizing process. The employees should be trained on how to assess key energy utilization in the company so as to develop a major baseline of energy utilization while setting improvement targets. The energy management philosophy should also have objectives and indicators that will assist in shaping and developing an action plan thus employs should be aware of energy utilization and performance objectives. These aspects will assist in improving energy performance and consumptions (Carbon Trust, 2010). Establishing an energy management philosophy will need transparency in order to facilitate communication in regard to management of energy resources. This will be achieved by promoting appropriate energy management practices, as well as, reinforcing good energy management behaviors. It is also imperative to take into consideration of the facilities’ evaluate and prioritization and implementation of new efficient energy technologies. Therefore, it is imperative to note that successful energy management does not take place overnight (Rudramoorthy & Sunil Kumar, 2001). This is because it involves effort, expertise, commitment, and time as well as repeating the most appropriate long-term rewards. In the long run, proper mechanisms can be developed in an effort to make the energy management philosophy sustainable. The latter could involve supporting the financing, preparation, and execution of environment conscious brick production technology solutions. References Demir, I. & Orhan, M. (2003). Reuse of waste bricks in the production line. Building and Environment, 38, 1451–1455. Rudramoorthy, R. & Sunil Kumar, C. (2001). Scope for Energy Efficiency Improvement and Pollution Prevention in Brick/Tile Industry: Case Study. Retrieved from http://buet.ac.bd/me/icme2013/icme2001/cdfiles/Papers/Energy/12.%20E-23%20Final%20(61-66).pdf Carbon Trust. (2010). Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator: Guide to the Brick Sector. Retrieved from https://www.carbontrust.com/media/206484/ctg043-brick-industrial-energy-efficiency.pdf Analysis of Masonry Brick Production Masonry Brick Production Company has different operations that should be considered. The analysis of the company will involve day to day operations of the organization as discussed herein. Mining and Clay Storage The organization utilizes different mining methods in addition to their transportation of their raw materials to the yard preparation areas. Some of the equipment used for mining are elevator scrapers, bulldozers, excavators and convey system. On the other hand, clay preparation equipment is also needed. The equipment used is dependent on the type of clay to be used in making the bricks. Additionally the landscape of the mining area determines the type of equipment to be used. High speed mills are used in preparation, roll crushers both primary and fine. These are some of the equipment used by the company. Another imperative operation is silo and mixing. This is an operation that deals with control of raw material conditions. Some of the machines used are siloat and filter pug mills (Koroneos & Dompros, 2007). The other major operation is forming. In this process, the company embarks on perfectly mixing the raw materials where it is pressed in a vacuum chamber in order to expel air in the mix, as well as kneading/shaping in order to produce the clay bricks in a variety of sizes and shapes. This is a very imperative process because it dictates the brick’s quality, surface finish and strength. Cutting The other process after shaping is cutting. This is done in accordance with the product requirements and measurements. This is an extremely crucial procedure because it determines the product’s shape and size of the product as well as its flexibility. The most common methods used in cutting bricks to size is by using a slug cutter, an automatic multi cutter as well as push through Cutter. The reel cutter is used in cutting column brick into units as they leave the extruder. After this, the push through cutter is used in cutting slug lengths which would later be sent into the cutter using the conveyor. The push through is then used in cutting columns through cutter wires, as well as, return for another column. The cut bricks are then moved by another conveyor to the offset site (Sethi & Pal, 2000). Handling (Loading & Unloading) Another company operation used is handling of the green bricks after they have been cut to the next section for firing and drying. Setting and manual machines are used in the handling process. Drying The pieces that have been cut are automatically dried by controlled cold and hot air system in order to remove moisture. In order to maintain an optimum level of drying, all sensitive working aspects like drying chamber temperature, cold air, and rotation of hot, air speed and blowing pressure are automatically controlled. The wet bricks are packed onto kiln cars which automatically moved through a tunnel dryer that utilizes heat from a cooling zone in the tunnel kiln before moving for firing into the kiln (Petavratzi & Barton, 2007). Firing The firing processes used by the company are one of the most common used modes of firing. The organization uses the transverse Arch Kilns as well as the continuous tunnel Kilns. The transverse Arch Kiln consists of numerous chambers where dry bricks get placed in the chambers where they are then bricked up. The fire gets pulled through the chamber by use of an exhaust Fan. The drying process is usually done before the wet bricks get packed on the kiln car (Petavratzi & Barton, 2007). Packing After drying the company ensures that the bricks are sorted into various grades and this is usually done by hand. The company uses modern systems to pack where the bricks are automatically strapped into blades and wrapped for stacking. Manual packing and sorting is used but not as much as the automatic palletizing machine for efficiency (Petavratzi & Barton, 2007). In conclusion, the organization analysis shows that the organization is in the right track in its operations. Additionally, it is growing and utilizing technology to enhance effectiveness in producing quality bricks. References Koroneos,C. & Dompros, A. (2007). Environmental assessment of brick production in Greece. Building and Environment, 42, 2114–2123. Petavratzi, E. & Barton, J. (2007). Characterization of Mineral Wastes, Resources and Processing technologies – Integrated waste management for the production of construction material: Heavy Ceramic (Brick). Retrieved from http://www.euresp-plus.net/sites/default/files/uploads/Ceramic%20sector%20case%20study.pdf Sethi, G. & Pal, P. (2000). Energy Efficiency in Small Scale Industries: An Indian Perspective. 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