Kiln Knowledge Quiz

Summary Title: Kilns and Their Uses

• A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber that produces temperatures high enough to complete certain processes, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes.
• Kilns have been used for thousands of years to turn objects made from clay into pottery, tiles, and bricks.
• There are two types of kilns: intermittent and continuous, both of which are insulated boxes with a controlled inner temperature and atmosphere.
• The firing process includes sintering, which heats the clay until the particles partially melt and flow together, creating a strong, single mass.
• Modern kilns often have sophisticated electronic control systems, although pyrometric devices are often also used.
• Chinese kiln technology was the most advanced in the world until recent centuries.
• Industrial kilns can fire tens of thousands of pieces in a single firing.
• Kilns can use electricity, natural gas, propane, solar radiation, vacuum, and radio frequency to generate heat.
• Wood-drying kilns are used to reduce the moisture content of green wood, and there are several types including conventional, dehumidification, solar, vacuum, and radio frequency.
• Kiln-dried firewood was pioneered during the 1980s and was later adopted extensively in Europe due to its economic and practical benefits.
• The total air emissions produced by wood kilns, including their heat source, can be significant, and the higher the temperature at which the kiln operates, the larger the quantity of emissions that are produced.
• Kiln technology has come a long way since its early days, from a simple trench filled with pots and fuel to modern methods that are cleaner, more efficient, and easier to control.