Energy saving and environmental protection

When you hear “energy saving and environmental protection”, the first thing that comes to mind is solar panels, wind turbines, smart meters. But in reality, especially in heavy industry, everything often comes down to much more mundane things: the efficiency of old equipment, the culture of operation and simple economic calculations. Many people think that this is only a matter of legislation or expensive innovation. Experience shows that the key is the integration of principlesenergy savinginto the production cycle itself, and in such a way that it is economically justified. Sometimes the most significant steps inenvironmental protectionare done not through high-profile projects, but through the modernization of seemingly minor units.

Mining sector: where the real losses start

Let's take, for example, the industry in which our corporation operates—the production of mining equipment. The energy consumption here is colossal. You often see a situation: a company has a separator or crusher that was manufactured twenty years ago. According to the documents, it works. But if you measure the actual energy consumption per ton of product and compare it with modern analogues, the difference can reach 30-40%. And these are not abstract numbers. These are tons of coal or thousands of cubic meters of gas burned simply because the engine is inefficient, or because the control system does not optimize the load.

We at LONGI Corporation face this all the time. Clients ask about new equipment, but when it comes to price, they often decide to “work on the old one.” And here the delicate work begins. You need to not just sell a new car, but show a complete picture of the cost of ownership. Sometimes it is more effective not to change the entire unit, but to modify its drive or control system. We once conducted an audit for one of the plants - we proposed replacing the electromagnetic system on the separator with a more modern one, with an improved cooling circuit. Replacement itself is a cost. But the reduction in peak loads on the network and the overall drop in energy consumption by 18% paid for the project in less than two years. And this, by the way, is straightenvironmental protection— less emissions from generating facilities.

Our corporation website -https://www.ljmagnet.ru- not just a business card. There, among other things, we try to post cases and technical notes on exactly the following topics: how to achieve significant savings through the modernization of a specific unit. This is not marketing in its purest form, but rather an exchange of experience. Because we understand: if the industry as a whole becomes more efficient, everyone will benefit.

Electromagnets and a hidden resource for saving

Our main focus is electromagnetic equipment. And here lies a huge, often unobvious potential forenergy saving. A classic example is magnetic separators on conveyor lines. A constantly turned on electromagnet with a simple power supply system means consistently high consumption, plus heating, requiring additional cooling.

Several years ago, together with engineers from a processing plant, we experimented with a pulsed power supply for separators in an area with an intermittent ore flow. The idea was simple: why maintain full capacity if the conveyor is sometimes idle or not fully loaded? We made a system that monitors the load and dynamically adjusts the strength of the magnetic field. Technically, everything worked out, but we came across an unexpected problem - increased wear of contacts in power relays due to frequent switching. I had to switch to another circuit using semiconductor switches. More expensive at the implementation stage, but more reliable. The savings ended up being about 22% in this area. This is the case when the theory of energy saving collided with the practice of operation, and a compromise had to be sought.

You will never find such nuances in general articles about “greens”. technologies. They are born only in production, in a dialogue between plant technologists and equipment developers. That is why in LONGI staff more than 60% of employees have higher professional education - without a deep understanding of the physics of processes and the real operating conditions of factories, any innovations will remain on paper.

Water, oil, heat: secondary exposure points

Protecting the environment is not just about air and emissions. Water consumption and waste disposal are equally important. In mining, many processes involve water (concentration, cooling) and cutting fluids (cutting fluids).

On one of the projects, we were faced with the task of reducing the volume of oil-contaminated water from the hydraulic system of a powerful press. The standard way is to install local treatment facilities. But we looked at the problem differently: is it possible to reduce the leakage itself? It turned out that it is possible if we reconsider the design of some of the seals and introduce an oil recirculation and filtration system in the unit itself. As a result, the amount of waste requiring disposal has decreased significantly. This, again, means less load on the plant’s treatment complexes and less energy for their operation. The result was a complex effect.

Such solutions require a non-standard approach. It is necessary to look at equipment not as an isolated unit, but as part of a large technological chain. Sometimes savings and environmental benefits are not achieved where they were originally sought. We are also gradually converting the Fushun plant, where our main production area of ​​140,000 m2 is located, to more closed water and oil cycles. This is a long process, but each such step reduces operating costs and contributes toenvironmental protection.

Production culture as the foundation

You can install the most modern and efficient equipment, but if the staff does not understand why they need to turn off the lights in the workshop or put the machines in standby mode, the whole effect will come to naught. This is perhaps the most difficult aspect.Energy savingshould become part of the daily routine.

On our projects, we now almost always include in the contract not only supply and installation, but also personnel training. And not in the format of a lecture, but in the format of practical analysis: here is the counter, here is the load graph, let's see what happens when we run this node idle. When people see numbers in rubles, and not in abstract kilowatts, attitudes change.

Sometimes the simplest measures produce amazing results. At one enterprise, after training and the introduction of a simple metering system by area, total energy consumption during non-working shifts fell by 15%. These were the same machines, the same lighting - they just began to turn them off correctly. This is the very culture without which all technologies are meaningless.

Looking ahead: where to look for reserves now

Today the trend is digitalization and predictive analytics. This is no longer the future, but the present. Sensors that collect data on vibration, temperature, and current consumption in real time allow not only to prevent breakdowns, but also to optimize operating modes for minimal energy consumption. For heavy equipment like ours, this is a gold mine.

We are currently testing systems on our samples that analyze the load and independently select the most economical mode of operation of the electromagnet or drive, depending on the type and density of the material being processed. This is the next level. But again, this needs to be implemented wisely. Not everywhere there are trained personnel or reliable communication channels for data transfer. Sometimes a reliable and well-functioning analog system turns out to be more profitable than a high-tech, but capricious one.

The bottom line is simple.Energy saving and environmental protectionin industry - this is not about one-time promotions or the purchase of a "magic" one. technologies. This is about a systematic, sometimes even down-to-earth, look at every operation, every piece of equipment. This is about economics, about engineering ingenuity and about responsibility, which takes years to develop. Like our corporation, which has been developing in this area since 1993. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that the greatest resource for savings and the environment is existing production. And often, to uncover it, you don’t need billions of dollars in investments, but careful analysis and a willingness to change your usual processes.