Study of the electricity consumption reduction of a compressed air system: the case of a steelmaking company

Abstract This work aims to reduce the energy consumption and thus increase the availability of blast furnace compressors of a steelmaking company, located in Alto Paraopeba region in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, through the elimination of waste points in the compressed air distribution. In order to develop this work, an ultrasound test in the compressed air line was performed to identify and quantify leaks in the flow. Once the leaks were identified, they were eliminated through corrective maintenance and improvements, and then the energy consumption scenarios before and after the improvements were compared. As a result, the average monthly electricity consumption in the reporting period decreased by 57.2%. In addition, one compressor was set aside in stand-by condition, as in the original plant. Thus, one can prove the efficiency in eliminating of waste points in compressed air distribution, since the reduction of energy consumption is important for the company to remain competitive, as the cost of electric energy affects the final price of the final products.

摘要 本研究旨在通过消除巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州Alto Paraopeba地区某钢铁企业高炉压缩机（blast furnace compressors）的压缩空气分配系统（compressed air distribution）中的能耗浪费点，降低其能源消耗，进而提升该类压缩机的运行可用性。为推进本研究，研究人员对压缩空气管路开展了超声波检测，以识别并量化管路内的泄漏流量。在确定泄漏点后，通过纠正性维修（Corrective Maintenance）与优化改进措施消除了上述泄漏，随后对比了改进前后的能源消耗场景。研究结果显示，报告期内月均耗电量下降了57.2%。此外，如同原厂设计，仍有一台压缩机处于待机备用状态。由此可证实，消除压缩空气分配系统中的能耗浪费点可有效提升系统运行效率；而电能消耗的降低对企业保持市场竞争力至关重要，因为电力成本会直接影响最终产品的售价。