Analysis Of The Mk Brick Kiln Thermal Behavior

Historically, the artisanal brick firing process has been of low profitability and highly polluting, which are reasons why the MK kiln was designed as a mitigation alternative. This type of kiln has been poorly investigated from a scientific point of view; the present work presents further knowledge about the thermal behavior of the MK kiln during a typical brick burning process. Experiments were carried out under the conditions normally handled by the producer. The results exhibit the level of thermal homogeneity inside the kiln, as well as the influence of the combustion gas flow toward the chimney. An energy balance carried out shows the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of the bricks, as well as the heat losses through the walls, dome, supporting arches, and combustion gases, finding an energy efficiency of 44.09%. Furthermore, the compression resistance of strategically placed specimens was evaluated to observe the influence of the temperature on the quality of the product, observing that only 28.5% of the evaluated specimens exceed the applicable standard. Finally, design considerations for an MK kiln series that optimizes the burning process energy in a semi-continuous batch process are presented. This configuration could be a convenient alternative to brick producers associated as a cooperative.