Abstract
Milling is among the most energy-consuming technological stages of copper ore processing. It is performed in mills, which are machines of high rotational masses. The start of a mill filled to capacity requires appropriate solutions that mitigate the overloading. One method for increasing the energy efficiency of ball mills is to optimize their drive systems. This article looks at two variants of drive systems with efficiencies higher than the already existing solutions. The first variant is a low-speed synchronous motor with permanent magnets without a gearbox, and the second variant is an asynchronous high-efficiency motor with a gearbox and a fluid coupling. The energy performance analysis of the three solutions was based on the average energy consumption indicator per mass unit of the milled material and on the energy consumption per hour. The investigations required models of the drive systems and analyses with the use of the Monte Carlo methods. The highest energy efficiency is observed in the case of the solution based on the permanent magnet motor. However, the drive system with the high-speed motor offers a gentle start-up possibility owing to the fluid coupling.
Highlights
The choice of a drive system for a ball mill used in copper ore comminution is largely dictated by the energy-related criteria
The energy efficiency of the three analyzed drives was identified in Monte Carlo simulations, which allow predictions of the most probable energy-consumption indicators
The research demonstrated that the old drive systems based on the SAS low-speed motors, which have been in operation for many years, have an average hourly electric energy consumption of 601.71 kWh and a specific energy consumption of 7.53 kWh/Mg
Summary
Ore beneficiation and processing plants are among the biggest industrial facilities with respect to energy consumption. Research in this sector has been naturally focused on maximizing the energy efficiency. As the majority of this industrial sector uses highly-emissive sources of electric energy, the energy efficiency has in this case become an important point on the European Union’s agenda [1]. The first stage in the processing of raw materials (i.e., comminution) is the most energy-consuming, and accounts for up to. In Poland, the annual electric energy consumption from copper ore processing plants is approximately 2.5 TWh [8]. The above reason explains the importance of the research into new solutions for improving the energy efficiency of the comminution process.
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