Abstract
Exploitation of lignite in continuous surface mines requires removing masses of overburden, which are hauled to a dumpsite. There are some technological arrangements where the overburden is transported several dozen meters down to a spreader operating on a lower located dumping level. Depending on an angle of a declined transportation route, there is a possibility to convert the potential gravitational energy of conveyed down overburden masses into electric energy. To recover the maximum percentage of stored energy, an energy-effective and fully loaded belt conveyor should work in a generator mode. Due to the implementation of such a solution, a lignite continuous surface mine, which is a great electric energy consumer, can obtain the status of an electricity prosumer and reduce its environmental impact, in particular demonstrating significant savings in primary energy consumption. Though lignite surface mining is phasing out in Europe, the recuperative, overburden conveyors for downhill transport match up the targets of sustainable mining, understood as getting the maximum benefits from the exploited natural resources. According to the analyzed case study, an investment into the installation of regenerative inverters for the electric power supply of the declined overburden conveyor would pay off within 3–4 years.
Highlights
Belt conveyors are extensively used in industrial bulk material transportation worldwide
The goal of this paper is to reveal the opportunity to mine the potential gravitational energy reserves in the lignite surface mines during their exploitation and post-closure phases
The amount of energy recovered is small in comparison to that consumed by the lignite coal mine transport system, this recovery allows obtaining the status of an energy prosumer, valuable due to money savings and due to the growing importance of a corporate social responsibility [15]
Summary
Belt conveyors are extensively used in industrial bulk material transportation worldwide. There are estimations that more than 2.5 million conveyors are in use [1,2]. Surface lignite mines are arguably the users of the largest and the most complex belt conveyor systems. One of the directions of this activity is recovering the potential gravitational energy in each case of transporting overburden downhill. Driven by electric motors, can be converted into electricity-generating machines [5]. A flagship example of an energy recovery belt transportation is a system of innovative belt conveyors in the Los Pelambres copper ore mine in Chile. It generates up to 25 MW power on a 13 km route with a decline of 1310 m and supplies this electric energy to the entire mine [6,7]
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