Specific Energy Consumption of a Belt Conveyor System in a Continuous Surface Mine

Witold Kawalec, Natalia Suchorab, Martyna Konieczna-Fuławka and Robert Król
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Witold Kawalec: Department of Mining and Geodesy, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Natalia Suchorab: Department of Mining and Geodesy, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Martyna Konieczna-Fuławka: Department of Mining and Geodesy, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Robert Król: Department of Mining and Geodesy, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Na Grobli 15, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: Belt conveyor (BC) transportation systems are considered to be the most effective for handling large volumes of bulk material. With regards to the rules of sustainable development, the improvement of belt conveyor technology is, in many cases, focused on environmental issues, which include the idea of energy usage optimization. The key issue in an energy-efficient transportation system is reducing the value of specific energy consumption (SEC) by increasing conveyor capacity whilst decreasing belt conveyor motion resistance. The main idea of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the modernization of existing belt conveyor transportation systems operated in open-pit lignite mines, in order to achieve relatively small electric energy consumption for a considered transportation task. The first part of the paper investigates the relationship between a conveyor’s SEC and material flow rate for various conveyor design parameters. Then, based on multi-parameter simulations, an analysis of electric energy consumption for a belt conveyor transportation system is carried out. Finally, an energy-saving, environmentally friendly solution is presented.

Keywords: belt conveyor; energy consumption; sustainable operation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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