How much coal and energy per brick do Ludhiana brick kilns use?
About 140 g of coal per brick: 14 t per lakh in Ludhiana's fixed chimney kilns, or 1.27 MJ per kg of fired brick against 1.1 to 1.2 MJ for a well run kiln. At India's coal factor that is about 0.25 kg CO2 per brick; the coal's implied heat value points nearer 0.34 kg.
A Ludhiana kiln's season
- About 330 kilns, almost all fixed chimney Bull's trench kilns; a few have moved to zigzag firing.
- A typical kiln fires about 40,000 bricks a day from January to June, about 80 lakh a year.
- Bricks are 9 by 4 by 3 inches and weigh about 3 kg fired; 65 to 70% come out class one.
- It burns about 1,120 t of coal a season; diesel only runs the water pumps.
Which coal factor fits
The profile puts a kiln at 728 toe for 1,120 t of coal, which works out to about 6,500 kcal per kg. That is far above typical Indian grades and closer to imported coal. Check the GCV and origin on your invoice: 1.76 t CO2 per tonne fits Indian coal, about 2.44 fits imported.
Getting from 1.27 to 1.1 MJ
- Crush coal below 10 mm and feed 750 g to 1 kg every 20 minutes, not big lots every 45 to 60.
- Feed across at least three lines, not two, and open a new row only when the bottom glows red, about 650 C.
- Keep the cooling zone near 150 to 170 feet; seal wickets and side flues; lay about 7 inches of ash on top.
- Zigzag firing: about 10% less coal.
- Perforated or hollow bricks save both clay and coal, and the saving grows with the share of perforation.
One kiln, one season (estimate)
- 80 lakh bricks on 1,120 t coal: 140 kg per 1,000 bricks
- Indian coal factor: 1,120 t x 1.76 = 1,971 t CO2, 246 kg per 1,000 bricks
- Imported coal factor: 1,120 t x 2.44 = 2,733 t CO2, 342 kg per 1,000 bricks
- Zigzag saving of 10%: 112 t coal, 197 to 273 t CO2 a season
- Cluster: 374,080 t coal, about 658,000 to 913,000 t CO2
Coal, output and energy from TERI's Ludhiana brick cluster energy profile. Which factor applies depends on the coal you buy.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads your coal invoices into season totals, at 1.76 t CO2 per tonne for Indian coal and 2.44 for imported, the two factors above; divide by bricks fired for the per brick figure.
Sources: TERI, Energy profile: Ludhiana brick manufacturing cluster, IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy (fuel emission factors)
Last reviewed 2026-10-31.