Environmental stewardship
Pollution prevention
Combined heat and power
At Kennecott, we are committed to researching and implementing additional ways of increasing power supply and energy efficiency throughout our operation. The new $10 million 6.2 megawatt (MW) combined heat and power (CHP) system that was commissioned in December 2010 at our refinery is an excellent example of this commitment. The CHP system is more than 80 percent energy efficient compared to separate heat and power systems, which are estimated to be less than 50 percent efficient. The 6.2 MW CHP system produces enough electricity to power 6,000 average-sized homes.
CHP, also known as cogeneration, is an efficient, clean and reliable approach to generating power and thermal energy from a single fuel source. The refinery CHP system is designed to meet the steam requirements of the refinery and provide up to 50 percent of the electrical needs of the plant. The steam produced by waste heat from this CHP system replaces steam that was previously supplied by a natural gas boiler system. Thus, it increases the facility's operational efficiency and decreases energy costs. At the same time, CHP reduces the emission of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. CHP technology represents an innovative approach to energy planning because the electrical power is being generated on site rather than at an off-site power plant - an approach called "distributed generation."
The CHP system uses a natural-gas-fired turbine generator combined with a heat-recovery steam boiler to capture heat from hot turbine exhaust for the efficient production of process steam used at the refinery. In addition to powering 50 percent of the plant's electrical needs, the CHP system will reduce air emissions by more than 90 percent. A similar 6.2 MW CHP unit will be installed at our new molybdenum autoclave processing (MAP) facility in 2012, bringing the CHP investment to $20 million.
With the addition of the refinery CHP, our power supply from alternative and high-efficiency power sources is now at 13 percent. When the MAP CHP comes online in 2012, our power supply from alternative, high-efficiency power sources will be at 16 percent.
Key benefits of our CHP system:
- Produces up to 6.2 megawatts per hour - equivalent to the electrical needs of 6,000 average-size homes
- Produces up to 70,000 pounds of steam per hour
- Provides distributed onsite steam and power production for use in the copper refining process
- Improves power generating efficiency to above 80 percent, compared to about 50 percent for traditional power plants
- Diversifies our energy generation portfolio and improves power reliability
Learn more about the CHP unit from Kennecott's Director of Energy Programs, Steve Sands
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Kennecott Refinery
Combined Heat and Power System (CHIP)
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