ABSTRACT

Most large gold mines in South Africa have centralisedcompressor

houses which supply compressed air for apipe network system. The
various operationa lpneumatic equipment found on these
sitesusuallyrequiresdifferent air flows and pressures.
Thesemultipleand varied requirements must be consideredwhen an
energy savings project is to be implemented.Very often a mine
compressed air system is operating ata higher pressure than
required for several reasons.One of these is the limitations set by the
process plantsconnected to the compressed air network.
Thepneumatic equipment of these plants requires highpressure and
low air flow. To supply this high pressureto the process plant the
entire compressed air ring mustsupply air at a higher pressure.The
solution to this problem would be operating adedicated compressor
for the individual componentsrequiring high pressure air. This will
allow the plant tobe isolated from the compressed air network.
Thenetwork pressure can then be reduced while the processplant is
supplied with the high pressure it requires.The result of this method
is a reduction in the energyconsumption of the networks mpressors
ue to thereduced system pressure. A further advantage is thatthe
process plant is supplied from a dedicated highpressure supply and
will not be subjected to the randomfluctuations of a communal
compressed air network.Another benefit is that any moisture in the
air from thesmall dedicated air compressor can be easily removed.
Excess moisture in the compressed air system cancondensate in the
pneumatic equipment and causedamage and/or failure.Energy
savings on the compressed air network as wellas operational benefits
to process plants are shown to beviable and sustainable options
when separating highpressure from low operational pressure
systems