Browsing by Author "Clemente-Jul, Carmen"

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    A combined photovoltaic and novel renewable energy system: An optimized techno-economic analysis for mining industry applications
    (01/04/2017) Vyhmeister, Eduardo; Muñoz, Cristina Aleixendri; Bermúdez, José Miguel; Pina Moya, Javier; Fúnez Guerra, Carlos; Rodríguez Mayor, Lourdes; Godoy Faúndez, Alex; Higueras, Pablo; Clemente-Jul, Carmen; Valdés-González, Héctor; Reyes-Bozo, Lorenzo
    The productivity of the mining industry in Chile, currently the main driver of Chilean economy, is closely tied to foreign demand for ores. Ore-processing is known for involving energy–intensive processes, such as comminution, concentrating and cathodic processes. As mining activities take place in the arid north of Chile, they are affected by water scarcity. Water shortage has forced the industry to pump desalinated seawater up to mining sites over 2000 m above sea level, further increasing electricity consumption. Given these energy needs, and the fact that electrical energy supply in the north of Chile is based on fossil fuels, it is important to consider the use of renewable energies as environment-friendly and economic alternatives. The aim of this work is to evaluate, by an optimized techno-economic analysis, the use of photovoltaic and a novel wind-based technology to supply at least 10% of the current and the predicted electrical energy requirements of the mining industry in the Antofagasta region. A combination of an optimization problem and technical evaluation was performed using Matlab to obtain the optimal number of solar and wind-based technology units in a case study. Total energy generation from a novel wind-based technology unit is 67,616 MWh/y, corresponding to 14.45·106 Nm3 (1298 t) of hydrogen and 7.41·106 Nm3(10,323 t) of oxygen after electrolytical transformation. Considering a 65% efficiency of the combined cycle fed with hydrogen and oxygen, 28,133 MWh/y of electrical energy would be obtained. For the cases studied the cost of energy from the combined system was estimated to be between 0.255 US$/kWh and 0.273 US$/kWh, slightly higher than the average energy regional cost. According to the analysis, the renewable energy system could be a sustainable alternative to supply economic green energy to the mining industry in Chile.
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    Green hydrogen integration in aluminum recycling: Techno-economic analysis towards sustainability transition in the expanding aluminum market
    (2024) Reyes-Bozo, Lorenzo; Fúnez-Guerra, Carlos; Salazar, José Luis; Vyhmeister, Eduardo; Valdés-González, Héctor; Jaén Caparrós, María; Clemente-Jul, Carmen; Carro-de Lorenzo, Francisco; Simón-Martín, Miguel de
    The use of aluminum-based products is widespread and growing, particularly in industries such as automotive, food packaging, and construction. Obtaining aluminum is expensive and energy-intensive, making the recycling of existing products essential for economic and environmental viability. This work explores the potential of using green hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas in the smelting and refining furnaces in aluminum recycling facilities. The adoption of green hydrogen has the potential to curtail approximately 4.54 ktons/year of CO2 emissions, rendering it a sustainable and economically advantageous solution. The work evaluates the economic viability of a case study through assessing the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Furthermore, it is employed single- and multi-parameter sensitivity analyses to obtain insight on the most relevant conditions to achieve economic viability. Results demonstrate that integrating on-site green hydrogen generation yields a favorable NPV of 57,370, an IRR of 9.83%, and a 19.63-year payback period. The primary factors influencing NPV are the initial electricity consumption stack and the H2 price.

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