Volume 6: Innovative Solutions for Energy Transitions: Part V

Techno-Economic Assessment of Integrating Thermal Energy Storage with Diesel Exhaust Waste Heat Recovery System for Remote Mines in Cold Climates Durjoy Baidya, Marco Antonio Rodrigues de Brito, and Seyed Ali Ghoreishi-Madiseh*

Abstract

Detachment from the national gridline makes the remote mines in the cold climate regions of Canada solely dependent on diesel generators for power generation purposes. Notwithstanding, more than 30% of the consumed diesel by these generators is frittered away as heat through the exhaust. To endure the long harsh winters, these mines also require substantial amounts of heating which is usually provided by burning diesel or propane. In such a scenario, the installation of a diesel exhaust heat recovery system in these remote mines has been considered as a sustainable strategy to preheat the mine intake air. However, this combined heat and power generation strategy cannot provide all the necessary heating due to the daily misbalance between the heating demand and the available heat in the exhaust of the diesel generator. Coupling seasonal thermal energy storage with the waste heat recovery system is a possibility that seeks to resolve such issue. This study investigates the integration of a seasonal thermal energy storage with a diesel exhaust heat recovery system in a remote mine in northern Canada by analyzing several possible alternatives regarding capacity and rates of energy loss. The financial impact of these parameters has been added to show the viability of the proposed strategy

Keywords remote mine, diesel exhaust heat recovery, thermal energy storage, green energy, carbon emission reduction