Closed-loop bulk air conditioning:A renewable energy-based system for deep mines in arctic regions |
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Affiliation: | 1. NBK Institute of Mining Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada;2. Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0E8, Canada |
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Abstract: | With depletion of shallow deposits, the number of underground mines expected to reach more than 3 km depth during their lifetime is growing. Although surface cooling plants are mostly effective in mine airconditioning, usually secondary cooling units are needed below 2 km depth. This need emerges due to the elevated thermal impacts caused by auto-compression of mine air as well as heat emissions from strata and mine machinery. As a result, in cold climates, like Canada, ultra-deep mines need their secondary underground cooling plants running year-round while the intake air must be heated to protect the sensitive machinery and liners from freezing during the winter season. To cool mine air, horizontal bulk-airconditioners with direct spray cooling systems are commonly used due to their high performance.Conventionally, sprayed water in bulk-air-coolers are mechanically circulated and refrigerated in coupled refrigeration plants. This set up can be transformed to a natural cooling/heating process by resurfacing the warm underground bulk-air-cooler spray water for mine air heating on the surface and re-sinking the chilled water for cooling in the underground bulk air coolers. This could significantly cut-down the fossil-fuel consumption in burners for mine air pre-conditioning and refrigeration cost when applicable.This paper presents an anonymous real-life example to study the feasibility of the proposed idea for an ultra-deep Canadian mine. |
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Keywords: | Energy recovery Renewable energy Mine energy systems Underground cooling Mine air preconditioning Ventilation HVAC Mine air heating |
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