Abstract Copper mining is the largest industry and energy consumer in Chile, utilizing heat from imported fossil fuels of which Chile is not a producer. The goals for decarbonization present opportunities to analyze how the Chilean industry can become sustainable with significant shares of renewable energy including solar heat. The present study analyzes the integration of solar heating to the copper refining process in order to gain insights on the technical, economical, and emissions performance of solar heating systems for the largest copper mining operations in Chile. The solar technologies considered in the analysis are flat plate, evacuated tube, and parabolic trough collectors. The results are validated by comparing with publicly available data from existing solar heating plants in copper mining facilities showing that solar plants are able to supply partially the thermal energy demand, although at different costs in terms of capital and operation and maintenance requirements. The economic analysis indicates that with current fossil fuel prices, solar heating technologies are a valid alternative for cost and emissions reduction in copper mining. Flat plate collectors show the lowest cost for solar heat when compared to evacuated tube and parabolic trough systems considering identical sets of technical and financial parameters. The parametric and sensitivity analysis indicate that the conditions under which solar heating is competitive with traditional fossil-fired heaters. which might still be required as backup systems in order to provide heat in a 24/7 regime, and in all the cases analyzed, a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions can be achieved.

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分析智利铜矿业利用太阳能热能的潜力

摘要 铜矿开采是智利最大的工业和能源消费国，它利用智利不生产的进口化石燃料的热量。脱碳目标为分析智利工业如何利用包括太阳能热在内的大量可再生能源实现可持续发展提供了机会。本研究分析了太阳能加热与铜精炼过程的整合，以便深入了解智利最大的铜矿开采作业中太阳能加热系统的技术、经济和排放性能。分析中考虑的太阳能技术是平板、真空管和抛物线槽式集热器。通过与铜矿设施中现有太阳能供热厂的公开数据进行比较，结果得到验证，表明太阳能发电厂能够部分供应热能需求，尽管在资本和运营和维护要求方面的成本不同。经济分析表明，以目前的化石燃料价格，太阳能加热技术是降低铜矿开采成本和排放的有效替代方案。考虑到相同的技术和财务参数，与真空管和抛物线槽系统相比，平板集热器的太阳能热成本最低。参数和灵敏度分析表明，太阳能加热与传统化石燃料加热器具有竞争力的条件。