Greener Brick Production in Hungary by Using Hydrogen

As part of an experimental project, a quarter of the fuel used in the production of bricks was replaced with hydrogen at the Wienerberger Plc. plant in Tiszavasvári, NE Hungary.

The first phase of the joint research started last year with the University of Miskolc was completed in April. In preparation for the work, new safety equipment, a bypass pipe branch for mixing natural gas and hydrogen, and a control system were built in the plant.

During the test operation carried out with hydrogen obtained from the tanker, the safety technical elements worked well and the experts succeeded in replacing 25% of the natural gas used to burn the ceramic masonry blocks made of clay with hydrogen, and they did not experience any changes or deterioration in the quality of the finished products.

This process is a significant step forward towards completely fossil fuel-free production. The company's goal is to become completely carbon neutral within thirty years, including by using hydrogen, i.e. to gradually replace the use of natural gas in brick production and eliminate carbon dioxide emissions in the drying and burning technological processes.

At the same time, the company noted that, due to the lack of turnkey technology, the project raises many open questions regarding cost-effectiveness, combustion properties, and the effects of flue gas composition on product properties, and the research consortium will look for answers to these.

They added that during the next step of the project, the rapid dryer at the Tiszavasvári plant will be equipped with new burners capable of burning 100% hydrogen and will be tested.

The Wienerberger group is the world's largest brick manufacturer, the company is present in twenty-eight countries, mainly in Europe, as well as in India, the United States and Canada. It employs more than 20,000 employees worldwide and has more than two hundred production sites. They currently produce at nine sites in Hungary, and together with Pipelife Hungária Ltd., which belongs to the company group and operates in the fields of public utilities, building engineering and irrigation, they have more than eight hundred employees.