Ladrillera Andina sa

Reuse of Hot Air for the Brick Drying Process

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Author

Santiago Rojas Galindo

Santiago Rojas Galindo

School

Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración

Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administración

Professor

adela velez

adela velez

Global Goals

7. Affordable and Clean Energy 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 13. Climate Action

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Summary

The innovation arises from the need to look for less expensive alternatives than the electrical energy used for the use of fans to dry the brick quickly and avoid fractures in the drying process. In addition, they tried to take advantage of a valuable resource when using the furnace, since instead of discarding it, it could be used for some process in production.

Innovation

The innovation is based on a system for reusing the hot air produced by a hoffman oven in the final cooking process where this hot air is transported to previous processes to facilitate and become more efficient in terms of costs derived from the use of electrical energy and reduction of product drying time in natural and artificial dryers.

Reuse of Hot Air for the Brick Drying Process

Inspiration

The main motivation was an improvement in the production processes that led to faster drying, better product quality and higher daily final production.

The purpose of the company is to be a pioneer in innovation in order to bring the customer, satisfying their needs, a quality product. This innovation project has a great relationship with the purpose since although it is about improving processes, it is also trying to improve the quality of the product where the possibility of the product presenting fractures is reduced with a better drying time and at the same time avoiding non-conforming product so that everything meets the technical requirements.

Overall impact

The overall impact would include, reduction in production times, time reduction in drying processes, reduction of electrical energy costs by avoiding the use of industrial fans and improvement in the volume of damaged products.


Business benefit

The short-term effects were seen in terms of reducing times, costs and higher production volume. These short-term effects were immediately evident when applying the innovation, producing long-term effects such as being prepared to maintain production in the winter season.

It is reflected in the reduction of electricity costs by 15% and higher daily product shipments increasing by 10%.

Social and environmental benefit

An improvement was noted in terms of the temperature in the environment emitted by the furnace that affected nearby populations.

This innovation had a positive impact on the environment since it caused the reduction of factors that directly affect the ecosystem such as the use of electrical energy and the emission of hot gases into the atmosphere when reusing them.

Interview

Luis Fernando Rojas, Project manager

Photo of interviewee

Business information

Ladrillera Andina sa

Ladrillera Andina sa

Neiva, Huila, CO
Year Founded: 1996
Number of Employees: 51 to 200

Colombian mining and industrial company, specialized in producing clay materials for the construction sector.