Underground mines in Arctic and Subarctic regions require the preheating of mine intake air during winter.The cold fresh air of those remote areas can be as severe as40℃ and commonly needs to be heated to around+3℃...Underground mines in Arctic and Subarctic regions require the preheating of mine intake air during winter.The cold fresh air of those remote areas can be as severe as40℃ and commonly needs to be heated to around+3℃.This extensive amount of heating is usually provided by employing large-size air heaters,fueled by diesel,propane,natural gas,or heavy oil,leading to high energy costs and large carbon footprints.At the same time,the thermal energy content of a diesel generator sets(gen-sets)exhaust is known to be one-third of the total heating value of its combusted fuel.Exhaust heat recovery from diesel gen-sets is a growing technology that seeks to mitigate the energy costs by capturing and redirecting this commonly rejected exhaust heat to other applications such as space heating or pre-heating of the mine intake air.The present study investigated the possibility of employing a simple system based on off-theshelf heat exchanger technology,which can recover the waste heat from the exhaust of the power generation units(diesel gen-sets)in an off-grid,cold,remote mine in Canada for heating of the mine intake air.Data from a real mine was used for the analysis along with environmental data of three different location-scenarios with distinct climates.After developing a thermodynamic model,the heat savings were calculated,and an economic feasibility evaluation was performed.The proposed system was found highly viable with annual savings of up to C$6.7 million and capable enough to provide an average of around 75%of the heating demand for mine intake air,leading to a payback period of about eleven months or less for all scenarios.Deployment of seasonal thermal energy storage has also been recommended to mitigate the mismatch between supply and demand,mainly in summertime,possibly allowing the system to eliminate fuel costs for intake air heating.展开更多
The customarily discarded exhaust from the fossil fuel-based power plants of the off-grid mines holds the thermal potential to fulfill the heating requirement of the underground operation.This present research fills i...The customarily discarded exhaust from the fossil fuel-based power plants of the off-grid mines holds the thermal potential to fulfill the heating requirement of the underground operation.This present research fills in an important research gap by investigating the coupling effect between a diesel exhaust heat recovery and an intake air heating system employed in a remote mine.An integrative approach comprising analytical,numerical,and experimental assessment has been adapted.The novel analytical model developed here establishes the reliability of the proposed mine heating system by providing comparative analysis between a coupled and a decoupled system.The effect of working fluid variation has been examined by the numerical analysis and the possible improvement has been identified.Experimental investigations present a demonstration of the successful lab-scale implementation of the concept and validate the numerical and analytical models developed.Successful deployment of the fully coupled mine heating system proposed here will assist the mining industry on its journey towards energy-efficient,and sustainable mining practices through nearly 70%reduction in fossil fuel consumption for heating intentions.展开更多
文摘Underground mines in Arctic and Subarctic regions require the preheating of mine intake air during winter.The cold fresh air of those remote areas can be as severe as40℃ and commonly needs to be heated to around+3℃.This extensive amount of heating is usually provided by employing large-size air heaters,fueled by diesel,propane,natural gas,or heavy oil,leading to high energy costs and large carbon footprints.At the same time,the thermal energy content of a diesel generator sets(gen-sets)exhaust is known to be one-third of the total heating value of its combusted fuel.Exhaust heat recovery from diesel gen-sets is a growing technology that seeks to mitigate the energy costs by capturing and redirecting this commonly rejected exhaust heat to other applications such as space heating or pre-heating of the mine intake air.The present study investigated the possibility of employing a simple system based on off-theshelf heat exchanger technology,which can recover the waste heat from the exhaust of the power generation units(diesel gen-sets)in an off-grid,cold,remote mine in Canada for heating of the mine intake air.Data from a real mine was used for the analysis along with environmental data of three different location-scenarios with distinct climates.After developing a thermodynamic model,the heat savings were calculated,and an economic feasibility evaluation was performed.The proposed system was found highly viable with annual savings of up to C$6.7 million and capable enough to provide an average of around 75%of the heating demand for mine intake air,leading to a payback period of about eleven months or less for all scenarios.Deployment of seasonal thermal energy storage has also been recommended to mitigate the mismatch between supply and demand,mainly in summertime,possibly allowing the system to eliminate fuel costs for intake air heating.
文摘The customarily discarded exhaust from the fossil fuel-based power plants of the off-grid mines holds the thermal potential to fulfill the heating requirement of the underground operation.This present research fills in an important research gap by investigating the coupling effect between a diesel exhaust heat recovery and an intake air heating system employed in a remote mine.An integrative approach comprising analytical,numerical,and experimental assessment has been adapted.The novel analytical model developed here establishes the reliability of the proposed mine heating system by providing comparative analysis between a coupled and a decoupled system.The effect of working fluid variation has been examined by the numerical analysis and the possible improvement has been identified.Experimental investigations present a demonstration of the successful lab-scale implementation of the concept and validate the numerical and analytical models developed.Successful deployment of the fully coupled mine heating system proposed here will assist the mining industry on its journey towards energy-efficient,and sustainable mining practices through nearly 70%reduction in fossil fuel consumption for heating intentions.
