Electrical Power & Protection


#EnergyEfficiency – the buzzword for 2021

February 2021 Electrical Power & Protection

Danfoss Drives South Africa recently concluded a campaign of webinars, with energy efficiency as the main topic, in the mining energy and extraction sector.

According to Energy Minister, Jeff Radebe, the mining industry is a major consumer of energy and is responsible for more than 40% of the total industrial energy use. In sub-Saharan Africa, the energy-intensive users group alone consumes over 40% of electricity produced in South Africa, while just less than 50% of the energy-intensive users in South Africa are mines.

“Energy consumption patterns need to be addressed in earnest in a bid to ensure that all industries de-carbonise towards a greener and sustainable future,” said Emre Goren, regional sales director, Danfoss Drives, Turkey, Middle East and Africa. “With an ever increasing demand to increase energy supply in a globally carbon constrained environment, the mining sector needs to improve its energy efficient technologies, such as electrical variable speed drives, which could drastically reduce energy consumption.

“The recently concluded series of Danfoss ‘Energy Efficiency in Mining’ webinars, demonstrated that the fundamentals of AC variable frequency speed drive technology persist, but many elements are changing in a move towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly mining future. Increasingly, software embedded in today’s processing components offers new functionality, which enables the AC drive to play a larger role in the processing plant.”

The content of the webinars clearly demonstrated that conventional motors run at a fixed speed, regardless of actual output requirement, wasting a tremendous amount of energy, but that energy output use can be reduced by 60% by controlling motors with electrical variable speed drives (VSDs).

New motor types are making their appearance all the time, placing additional demands on motor drive and control. This in turn means that the AC drive needs to be able to control an expanding variety of motor types, without burdening the end user with more complexity. In addition, new energy efficiency requirements lead to more variable speed applications.

Certain AC drives are designed for exactly the needs of mining and mineral processing plants, coping with extreme conditions, heavy loading and controlling equipment, sometimes installed a long distance away.

No matter how well the plant design is optimised, there is always a way to drive down costs even further. AC drives which are robust to extend durability are used extensively for this purpose, optimising processes, reducing maintenance and saving energy costs. The mining and minerals industry presents some of the most challenging environments for production. Mine sites, mineral processing facilities, associated stockyards and port facilities are large scale and often in remote locations.

All Danfoss drives above 90 kW incorporate a back-channel cooling design, with separate cooling paths for the power components, control electronics, and an IP54 seal between these two paths. This back-channel cooling removes approximately 85-90% of the power loss directly through the heatsink, leaving only 10-15% of the total loss dissipated in the switch room. Consideration has to be given to the outside air quality, but if it is suitable, using the heatsink cooling fans and appropriate mounting and ducting, filtered external air at temperatures of up to 50°C can be used to exhaust approximately 85-90% of the heat loss from these VSDs directly outside the switch room, without affecting the switch room pressurisation. The switch room air conditioning system only needs to be sized for the remaining 10-15% of losses. Utilising this feature can dramatically reduce the air conditioning requirements of the switch rooms and provide significant project cost savings, along with ongoing operational cost savings, compared to VSDs without such a design feature.




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

The choice of a thermal carrier is critical for optimal processing
Electrical Power & Protection
Historically steam, fuelled by coal, has been the most prevalent thermal carrier in South African industry. However, times are changing, with the manufacturing and processing sector needing to review the energy reticulation systems and thermal carriers currently in use.

Read more...
ABB’s blueprint for a net zero future
Electrical Power & Protection
ABB’s Mission to Zero is a strategic initiative aimed at achieving a sustainable future characterised by zero emissions, zero accidents and zero waste.

Read more...
How South Africa’s transformer manufacturing industry can fill a gaping infrastructure gap
ACTOM Electrical Machines Electrical Power & Protection
South Africa’s energy transition is accelerating the demand for power transformers. However, this shift toward renewable energy is exposing a critical infrastructure gap: a severe shortage of transformers.

Read more...
General-purpose 350 W AC-DC power supply
Electrical Power & Protection
The TDK-Lambda GUS350 series of compact single-output general-purpose power supplies addresses the need for an economically priced product while maintaining reliability and quality.

Read more...
Ground-breaking battery tester
Comtest Electrical Power & Protection
Midtronics offers the proven MVT handheld battery tester. This revolutionary tool, powered by MDX-AI, is set to redefine the standards of battery diagnostics and testing in the automotive industry.

Read more...
Green hydrogen could be the missing link in powering the future of technology
Electrical Power & Protection
Green hydrogen has numerous applications across multiple industries. It also has the potential to provide a clean energy source to power future technology, with far-reaching implications for both industry and society.

Read more...
Energy audits pave the pathway to sustainability and savings
Schneider Electric South Africa Electrical Power & Protection
Energy audits serve as essential tools for businesses looking to reduce costs and meet environmental targets. By analysing energy consumption across systems such as lighting, HVAC, ICT and water infrastructure, audits identify inefficiencies and quantify carbon footprints, enabling data-driven decisions for operational and financial optimisation.

Read more...
Passive fire protection for lithium-ion battery risks
Electrical Power & Protection
In response to the growing threat posed by lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery fires, a breakthrough passive fire protection solution is now available in South Africa.

Read more...
Schneider Electric unveils new range of circuit breakers
Schneider Electric South Africa Electrical Power & Protection
Schneider Electric has launched its new MasterPacT MTZ Active range of circuit breakers in South Africa. This is a revolutionary new circuit breaker designed to set new benchmarks for safety, efficiency and sustainability while ensuring business continuity.

Read more...
Reliable power for demanding applications
Conical Technologies Electrical Power & Protection
In modern industrial automation, reliability, efficiency and compact design are critical when selecting power supplies. The Mibbo Power MTR480 three-phase DIN-rail power supply is engineered to meet these exacting requirements.

Read more...









While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved