Collaborative work from BUET published in prestigious Science Journal
A collaborative study of Professor Shoeb Ahmed from Department of Chemical Engineering at BUET has been published in Science, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals. Researchers at Stanford University, Boston University, icddr,b, Greentech Knowledge Solutions, and BUET have introduced an evidence-based strategy proven to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions in the brick manufacturing industry by encouraging operational changes that prioritize practicality and profit. Their study also featured as the cover of the issue, depicting its importance and greater impacts.
This study analyzed the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that showed that brick kiln owners in Bangladesh are willing and able to implement cleaner and more efficient business practices within their operations—without legal enforcement—if they receive the proper training and support, and if those changes are aligned with their profit motives. The study is the first to rigorously demonstrate successful strategies to improve efficiency within the traditional brick kiln industry.
The RCT evaluated an intervention that provided educational resources, training, and technical support to kiln owners in Bangladesh during the 2022-2023 brick kiln season with 276 brick kilns. The intervention aimed to motivate the owners to make energy-efficient adjustments to their manufacturing process, such as streamlining brick stacking and using powered biomass fuel, both of which improve complete fuel combustion and reduce heat loss in the kilns. The study found that 65 percent of the brick kiln owners adopted these changes, which led to a 23-percent reduction in energy use. The changes substantially improved air quality, contributing to 20-percent reductions in CO₂ and PM2.5 emissions. This intervention also brought substantial savings in coal expenditures and higher-quality bricks. Notably, the researchers estimated that the social benefits due CO2 reductions from the intervention outweighed costs by a factor of 65 to 1 and that the CO2 reductions were achieved at the low cost of $2.85/ton. When the team returned to participating brick kilns the next year, they found adoption of the improved practices had not only sustained but increased.
This is groundbreaking and monumental work from the team, spreading its implications far beyond the scientific community. Their approach can redefine the way of practice of the brick kiln in South Asia, and can reduce the environmental and social burdens.