Bearing materials made with solar energy
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20210514/1620976967623057.png" title="1620976967623057.png" alt="4.png"/></p><p>Polymer bearing material producer, Vesconite Bearings, intends to take advantage of South Africa¡¯s high levels of solar radiation to power some of its most power-hungry processes. The company has already installed the first phase of its solar project, comprising 14 strings of 18 x 350W Canadian solar panels and a 66kW Schneider Electric inverter.</p><p><br/></p><p>The system produces 65kWh at peak, with the inverter supplying 60kW to the factory¡¯s Extrusion Department, which makes its Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube wear-resistant self-lubricating hollow bars and rods.</p><p><br/></p><p>As such, three quarter of the department¡¯s electricity needs of 80kW/h, are provided for during peak sunlight hours, with a smaller proportion of the department¡¯s electricity needs being catered for from dawn and after 12 noon.</p><p><br/></p><p>¡°This is a 60 kW on-demand grid-tied system,¡± explains Extrusion Head Marius Du Plooy. ¡°This means that the inverter is synchronised with the municipality¡¯s supply and we use what we produce during day time,¡± he notes.</p><p><br/></p><p>Unfortunately, the municipality in which Vesconite Bearings is located does not allow energy producers to sell excess power back to it.</p><p><br/></p><p>It is not yet cost effective to use storage batteries, so the full energy-production-capacity of the solar system is not harnessed and the company is investigating how to expand the usage of the system.</p><p><br/></p><p>Vesconite¡¯s CEO, Dr Jean-Patrick Leger, is pleased that the company has been able to harness the power of the sun for its extrusion processes and will soon have ¡°Produced by Solar Power¡± stickers printed for the company¡¯s extrusions produced during the "solar shift".</p><p><br/></p><p>Extruders tend to be power intensive since energy is needed for the barrel heaters that melt the polymers; the screw drives that propel the polymer material through the extruders; and the digital control systems. However, the location of the company in sunny South Africa, with more than 2,500 hours of sunshine a year and solar-radiation levels of between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh/m2 per day is a clear benefit.</p><p><br/></p><p>¡°This is one thing that small businesses can do to save money, make themselves less reliant on State-provided electricity, and reduce their impact on the environment,¡± says Leger.</p><p><br/></p>
14 May,2021
