Energy efficiency in the mineral resources and raw materials complex

Energy efficiency and energy saving at all times and especially at the present stage of development of industry and economy have played an extremely important role. Regardless of which countries and according to what criteria they build energy development plans, energy efficiency and energy saving are always a priority. This fully applies to the mineral resources complex, in which energy consumption as a whole makes up a large share of total consumption. The resources mined in the mineral resources complex are themselves a source of energy. The energy sector is evolving in many ways. Many scientific works, the results of which are reflected in publications, confirm the relevance of research in the energy efficiency field. But the approach to individual decisions in the mineral resource industry is specific and it is worth of separate consideration. Recently, much attention has been paid to “green energy” and renewable energy sources. However, energy efficiency in the field of traditional generation and consumption remains an urgent problem and its solution is in constant development. One of the main directions for improving energy efficiency is the development of autonomous systems for the electrical and thermal power engineering. All these problems are reflected in a special volume of the Journal of the Mining Institute, the articles are divided into four sections: energy efficiency of the electric drive in the mineral resources complex (MRC); energy efficiency of industrial plants and enterprises in MRC; power quality and renewable sources in MRC; autonomous power supply systems in MRC. The presented articles contain valuable material from the scientific and practical points of view and can form the basis for further research in the energy efficiency field

Determination of the grid impedance in power consumption modes with harmonics

The paper investigates the harmonic impedance determination of the power supply system of a mining enterprise. This parameter is important when calculating modes with voltage distortions, since the determined parameters of harmonic currents and voltages significantly depend on its value, which allow the most accurate modeling of processes in the presence of distortions in voltage and current. The power supply system of subsurface mining is considered, which is characterized by a significant branching of the electrical network and the presence of powerful nonlinear loads leading to a decrease in the power quality at a production site. The modernization of the mining process, the integration of automated electrical drive systems, renewable energy sources, energy-saving technologies lead to an increase in the energy efficiency of production, but also to a decrease in the power quality, in particular, to an increase in the level of voltage harmonics. The problem of determining the grid harmonic impedance is solved in order to improve the quality of design and operation of power supply systems for mining enterprises, taking into account the peculiarities of their workload in the extraction of solid minerals by underground method. The paper considers the possibility of determining the grid impedance based on the measurement of non-characteristic harmonics generated by a special nonlinear load. A thyristor power controller based on phase regulation of the output voltage is considered as such a load. Simulation computer modeling and experimental studies on a laboratory test bench are used to confirm the proposed method. The recommendations for selecting load parameters and measuring device connection nodes have been developed