February 2014
MODERN MINING
53
PRODUCT News
Mining operations can significantly
improve the wellbeing of their under-
ground workers by adopting the Enerflow
underground air cooling unit (ACU) tech-
nology developed by M-Tech Industrial
and distributed locally by Mine Support
Products (MSP).
Vereeniging-based MSP is jointly owned
by international manufacturing and engi-
neering company DCD Group and Robor.
M-Tech Industrial Programme Manager
Dr Martin van Eldik states that the Enerflow
ACUs are unique in that they are trans-
portable vapour compression cooling
units, thereby ensuring that they provide
a comfortable working environment to
underground workers at site areas where
chilled water is not available for cooling.
“The ACUs maintain a typical tempera-
ture of between 26 deg C and 28 deg C
in areas where cooling capacity is inad-
equate, inefficient or additional cooling is
required. The Enerflow ACU is particularly
well suited to remote underground areas
Transportable AC units for underground mines
where temperatures approach the critical
32 deg C wet bulb limit,” he says.
Wet bulb temperature is the lowest
temperature that can be reached under
ambient conditions by the evaporation
of water only, and is the temperature felt
when the skin is wet and exposed to mov-
ing air. When the ambient temperature
is excessive, underground workers are
exposed to potentially fatal hypothermia
due to heat stress.
In order to combat this hazard, MSP
General Manager Conrad Engelbrecht
points out that the Enerflow ACU draws in
hot air and cycles it through the air evapo-
rator with a standard mine ventilation fan
to cool it, before feeding the cooled air
back into the working environment.
“The Enerflow ACU can be easily con-
nected to all services such as water,
electricity and fans. Depending on the
air volume flow rate through the unit, the
temperature drop on the airside through
the unit ranges between 5 deg C and 10
deg C wet bulb,” he explains.
The Enerflow ACU fits into a standard
mine cage with two layout configurations
available andcanbeeasilymovedasmining
activities expand. “The vapour compres-
sion cycle – made up of the compressor,
air evaporator and water condenser – are
housed within a mobile modular unit that
can be mounted on a tracked unit or with
its own wheel-mounted undercarriage,”
adds Engelbrecht.
Henk Schoeman, DCD, tel (+27 16) 428-0133
The Enerflow underground air cooling unit.
