MechChem Africa January-February 2022

⎪ Innovative engineering ⎪

Power Technique’s product development is aligned with this sustainability strat- egy. Stanford says the power solution products and services being offered by all Atlas Copco business units strive to help customers meet their own sustain- ability targets. “A substantial percentage of clients’ greenhouse gas emissions are linked to power products such as those we offer. So we need to be using more efficient products and using them more sparsely. Power should be deployed only when needed and we should then use the most efficient options available to us,” he argues. Product innovations “Out of all Atlas Copco business units, we have the greatest challenge. We are dealing with mobility and power sources that often require a fossil-fuelled engine, which is already as efficient as it can be. Engines have never been very ef- ficient power generators, but we need to continue to meet the needs of our customers, while migrating the engine’s functionality into renewable, highly effi- cient and cleaner power source options.” Describing a new initiative for diesel driven compressors cal led PACE – Pressure Adjusted through Cognitive Electronics – he explains that PACE technology allows the pressure to be set while themachine regulates the flow. “This allows a single machine to handle the job of three fixed-pressuremachines. If using the compressor to operate hand- held tools, then a 7.0 bar pressure can be set and the engine will adjust its output to deliver the demand flow. “This gives far more flexibility from the engine and compressor, enabling one smaller machine to deliver pressures from5.0 to 14 bar, and a larger version to be used for requirements from 15 to 25 bar. And if demand is low, the compres- sor is driven at reduced speed to deliver lower flow, saving on fuel consumption and emissions. Also on the compressed air side, Stanford cites a “very nice innovation” on one of Power Technique’s smaller products, the SRD Rockdrill. “Our SRD is a small handheld rockdrill for general construction and small-scale quarrying. This type of equipment is seldom seen as needing to be efficient or sophisticated,” he notes. As well as an incorporating a solid cylinder housing design tominimise air leaks, the SRD design allows flushing and drilling to be performed simultane- ously. This means that, simultaneously to drilling, the rock shavings are blown clear, which has the effect of reducing

Left: PACE technology allows a single machine to handle the job of three fixed-pressure machines. If using the compressor to operate handheld tools, a 7.0 bar pressure can be set and the engine will adjust its output to deliver the demand flow. Right: Atlas Copco’s SRD Rockdrill allows flushing and drillings to be performed simultaneously, which reduces air consumption while significantly increasing the drilling speed.

air consumption whi le significantly increasing the drilling speed. These two factors immediately reduce the size of the compressor required and the total power drawn to drive the compressor. “More work in less time with less air using less fuel guarantees reduced carbon emissions. If simply innovating a tool in isolation, one can get incremental benefits, but innovations that embrace the whole system, and the power driving it, can make a massive difference on all levels. We shouldn’t trip over ourselves by focusing only on the big power con- sumers,” he tells MechChem Africa . As addi t ional benef i ts , the SRD Rockdrill also reduces noise and vibra - tion levels, anHSE and ergonomic advan- tage that adds another environmental benefit for users of the equipment as well as for other site workers and local residents. At the heart of the drive to incorpo- rate renewable energy options into its offering, Power Technique has intro- duced Zenergize, a modular range of lithium-ion battery packs designed to store from 45 to 500 kWh of energy. When supplying electrical energy into a fluctuating load profile, Zenergizemakes it possible to use battery storage to supplement demand when it is high and to recover that energy during periods of lower demand. “The use of Zenergize battery packs also brings solar panels into play, which can simply be added to supplement the energy available to the system. Every kWh added from solar system reduces the load drawn from the generator, increasing the fuel efficiency of the

whole system and reducing emissions,” Stanford says. By carefully balancing the size of each module – the solar panels, the battery pack and the diesel generator – and incorporating smart controls, the most efficient power source can be used at any point in time to supply the demand. At times the diesel generator will have to be used, but at other times the solar panels coupled with the energy from the batteries can be used to fully supply the demand. “It means our clients never need to run a diesel generator unnecessarily. ZenergizewithAtlas Copco compressors forms a total deliverable, modular and flexible solution. If the site requirements change, the generator and its power pack, the Zenergize pack and, if included, the solar modules can be changed to suit,” he adds. On the engine side, he says hydrogen is being explored as a plug-in substitute for diesel power in these systems. “The system is already migration ready: as other renewable options become avail- able, we can swap out individual tech- nologies and replace them with more modern and greener options. “We see huge opportunities to get renewable energy into our region. Diesel is no longer the most effective way of getting power to unconnected areas. We are now seeing sales of traditional gensets fall across the African continent and this is sure to drive the adoption of hybrid type systems that use increas- ing percentages of renewable options,” Stanford concludes. www.atlascopco.com/en-za

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