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Environmental Impact of Brick Manufacturing Process in Rajshahi Region, Bangladesh

Received: 13 December 2023     Accepted: 25 December 2023     Published: 1 February 2024
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Abstract

Brick is the most common construction material that we use for the construction of buildings and structures all over Bangladesh. To supply the brick locally, many brickfields have emerged all over the country. The production of brick has seasonal, environmental, social and biological impact. The adverse pollution effect of the brick production process is increasing every year as the brick production and number of brick kilns are increasing day by day. A life cycle assessment or LCA analysis has been carried out to evaluate the overall impact of brick manufacturing process on environment and human health in Rajshahi region. The LCA software OpenLCA 1.11.0 was used to carry out the study with a scope from “cradle to gate” of LCA methodology. We focused on the potential environmental burden, including resource depletion, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and adverse effects on human health and crop production. The brick manufacturing phases of 20 brick fields are assessed through interviews, questionnaire surveys and in-situ observations. We also focused on the management system of the brickfields to assess the mismanagement and safety issues. We also compared the environmental effect and mismanagement on the brick manufacturing process to find the correlation between them. Based on the major findings from our study, some recommendations are proposed to mitigate the problems. The main recommendations include the use of eco bricks, recycled bricks, modified kiln systems, alternative firing technologies, training programs and a safe working environment.

Published in International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11
Page(s) 1-12
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Brickfield, LCA Analysis, Environmental Impact, Mismanagement, Eco Bricks

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Shamim, M. B., Islam, M. A., Sultana, M. A. (2024). Environmental Impact of Brick Manufacturing Process in Rajshahi Region, Bangladesh. International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment, 9(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11

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    ACS Style

    Shamim, M. B.; Islam, M. A.; Sultana, M. A. Environmental Impact of Brick Manufacturing Process in Rajshahi Region, Bangladesh. Int. J. Econ. Energy Environ. 2024, 9(1), 1-12. doi: 10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11

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    AMA Style

    Shamim MB, Islam MA, Sultana MA. Environmental Impact of Brick Manufacturing Process in Rajshahi Region, Bangladesh. Int J Econ Energy Environ. 2024;9(1):1-12. doi: 10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11

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  • @article{10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11,
      author = {Mafruha Binte Shamim and Md. Ashraful Islam and Mst. Abeda Sultana},
      title = {Environmental Impact of Brick Manufacturing Process in Rajshahi Region, Bangladesh},
      journal = {International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-12},
      doi = {10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.ijeee.20240901.11},
      abstract = {Brick is the most common construction material that we use for the construction of buildings and structures all over Bangladesh. To supply the brick locally, many brickfields have emerged all over the country. The production of brick has seasonal, environmental, social and biological impact. The adverse pollution effect of the brick production process is increasing every year as the brick production and number of brick kilns are increasing day by day. A life cycle assessment or LCA analysis has been carried out to evaluate the overall impact of brick manufacturing process on environment and human health in Rajshahi region. The LCA software OpenLCA 1.11.0 was used to carry out the study with a scope from “cradle to gate” of LCA methodology. We focused on the potential environmental burden, including resource depletion, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and adverse effects on human health and crop production. The brick manufacturing phases of 20 brick fields are assessed through interviews, questionnaire surveys and in-situ observations. We also focused on the management system of the brickfields to assess the mismanagement and safety issues. We also compared the environmental effect and mismanagement on the brick manufacturing process to find the correlation between them. Based on the major findings from our study, some recommendations are proposed to mitigate the problems. The main recommendations include the use of eco bricks, recycled bricks, modified kiln systems, alternative firing technologies, training programs and a safe working environment.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    T1  - Environmental Impact of Brick Manufacturing Process in Rajshahi Region, Bangladesh
    AU  - Mafruha Binte Shamim
    AU  - Md. Ashraful Islam
    AU  - Mst. Abeda Sultana
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    DO  - 10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11
    T2  - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment
    JF  - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment
    JO  - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment
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    EP  - 12
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5021
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/ijeee.20240901.11
    AB  - Brick is the most common construction material that we use for the construction of buildings and structures all over Bangladesh. To supply the brick locally, many brickfields have emerged all over the country. The production of brick has seasonal, environmental, social and biological impact. The adverse pollution effect of the brick production process is increasing every year as the brick production and number of brick kilns are increasing day by day. A life cycle assessment or LCA analysis has been carried out to evaluate the overall impact of brick manufacturing process on environment and human health in Rajshahi region. The LCA software OpenLCA 1.11.0 was used to carry out the study with a scope from “cradle to gate” of LCA methodology. We focused on the potential environmental burden, including resource depletion, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and adverse effects on human health and crop production. The brick manufacturing phases of 20 brick fields are assessed through interviews, questionnaire surveys and in-situ observations. We also focused on the management system of the brickfields to assess the mismanagement and safety issues. We also compared the environmental effect and mismanagement on the brick manufacturing process to find the correlation between them. Based on the major findings from our study, some recommendations are proposed to mitigate the problems. The main recommendations include the use of eco bricks, recycled bricks, modified kiln systems, alternative firing technologies, training programs and a safe working environment.
    
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Building Engineering & Construction Management, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

  • Department of Building Engineering & Construction Management, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

  • Department of Building Engineering & Construction Management, Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

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