South African cement manufacturers are under financial pressure. Sales have declined due to
the 2008 recession and electricity costs have tripled from 2005 to 2012. Electricity cost
savings are therefore more important than ever. Unfortunately retrofitting highly energyefficient
equipment is not ideal. These installations are costly and take a long time to
implement. Alternative strategies that can produce quick results in reducing electricity costs
are needed. One such alternative is a programme called Demand Market Participation
(DMP).
The DMP programme was implemented by Eskom, South Africa’s national electricity utility,
to reduce electricity demand during supply shortages. This programme offers potential cost
savings for clients with excess production capacity. Clients such as cement plants can switch
off non-essential production equipment in Eskom’s peak demand periods for a financial
incentive. To maximise the benefits for both the clients and Eskom, accurate electricity
forecasting is needed, as are systems enabling a quick response to load reduction requests.
In this study DMP opportunities on typical cement plants were identified. A DMP strategy to
assist cement plants was developed to achieve maximum cost savings without influencing
production, quality and safety. An existing energy management system (EnMS) was adapted
to incorporate the new DMP participation strategy. The new EnMS and DMP strategy were
implemented at a South African cement plant, resulting in savings of R220 000 per month.
This translates into an annual cost-saving potential of R2-million for the plant, and an R13-
million cost-saving potential for the total South African cement industry. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/11184 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Krüger, Izak Daniël |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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