Wheeling towards sustainable pottery making in Khurja

Whispers of the past

The lone kick wheel of Khurja proudly stands in front of Ahamad’s veranda. Only a few feet away, lie the remnants of a coal-fired down-draft (DD) kiln—a canopy-like structure with a tall chimney dating back to 1946, serving as a silent witness to a bygone era. This kiln was last fired in 1998.

Khurja’s skyline is still dotted with similar chimneys, with some estimates suggesting that at one point in time, around 200 DD kilns, were firing pots, each undergoing firing cycles lasting 120 hours, as per a book published by as reported by CSIR- Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI). All these kilns were abandoned in the 1990s. A typical operation cycle from cool to cool was approximately five to seven days, accounting for a significant portion of energy costs.

While local residents reminisce fondly about those days, they acknowledge the limitations of a coal-based DD kiln. It was labour-intensive and had a serious impact on the local environment. With the industry’s evolution, coal-fired kilns gave way to oil-fired shuttle kilns and tunnel kilns. Introduced in Khurja’s pottery cluster in 1993-1994, shuttle kilns offered a more energy-efficient alternative with a shorter cycle duration- two to three days. The CGCRI book reveals that it needs a capital cost of Rs. 7-12 lakhs.

The transition away from coal-fired kilns was driven by significant environmental challenges, as highlighted in a report by the Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom (UK). The report, published in 2001, emphasised the need to address air pollution and fly ash disposal due to coal use. Consequently, the local industry shifted to diesel. However, the majority of factories embraced tyre oil as a cheaper alternative, confirm local artisans, adding that it tyre oild too has adverse impacts on the local environment.

Guljeet Singh Minhas, Director, Minhas Pottery, underscores the inefficiency of DD Kilns, noting that 80% of energy was wasted. He claims that the shift to diesel, a fuel used in the shuttle and tunnel kilns, brought about significant improvements, reducing energy wastage to just 20%.

The local industry then shifted to gas as a fuel. In Khurja, natural gas is available through piped natural gas from the private company, Adani Gas. The shift was prompted by a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in 2016, residents say. However, according to Minhas, gas-based furnaces offer potters a more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative.

Some reports state that Khurja’s pottery cluster had earlier sought access to natural gas from a nearby pipeline for over a decade, before Adani Gas made its presence. The pipeline is located approximately 14 kilometres away from Khurja, near Shikarpur, but the access was denied due to scarcity and priority was given to other areas like Agra. The priority was provided to Agra because the monument was “deteriorating due to pollution caused by coal burning and other industrial gases which corrode the marble.”

Firing up the change

Minhas asserts that in his tunnel kiln, which operates on natural gas, there is zero energy wastage. Arif Khan, the ceramic designer at Minhas Pottery, elaborates on the entire process of firing pots at the organisation, emphasising that the sizes of kilns and trolleys may vary among different factories.

After the pots are prepared, they undergo a thorough cleaning process to remove dust and impurities. They are then loaded onto trolleys with precision to maximise efficiency, ensuring each trolley carries the maximum number of clay utensils to the furnace. At the furnace, a pusher guides each trolley into the 90-metre-long tunnel kiln, which accommodates approximately 24 trolleys simultaneously. Each trolley, measuring 2.5 feet in length, 1.5 feet in width, and 2.25 feet in height, can hold about 15,000 pieces of ceramics and remains in the furnace for 24 hours.

Inside the kiln, the wares undergo three phases: preheating, firing, and cooling. In the preheating zone, temperatures range from 500 to 750 degrees celsius for 10 hours. Next, in the firing zone, temperatures reach 1,100 to 1,250 degrees celsius for four hours, transforming the clay into durable ceramics. After firing, the wares enter the cooling zone, where temperatures range from 900 to 200 degrees celsius for ten hours. Despite cooling, the pots remain hot enough to require careful handling. Khan says that innovation is happening at every level and indicates the trend of addition of silicon carbide in trolleys to make it…