26-Feb-2010
Summary
Newsletter 3nd edition: Utilities - Green Energy & Clean Solutions - Mining - Petroleum & Gas
Content
Dear Reader,
Energy and mining markets are clearly growing in importance. That is why Bekaert, too, is fully committed to developing innovative technologies and solutions that will enable customers in various energy sectors to extract, transmit, produce, and distribute energy and other resources in an efficient and safe way.
Each issue of this newsletter will cover a selection of products and solutions that Bekaert provides. Consider it an invitation to contact us at any time with any questions you may have.
Powering your performance
Over the last 60 years, electricity consumption has increased more than 1 500 percent in the United States of America. This increased electricity demand has caused congestion in the North American transmission system, which is in vital need of upgrading.
Renewing your energy
A large part of the world's solar cell production requires the cutting of polysilicon ingots into ‘wafers’. Since the wafer is the most expensive portion of crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic technologies, the production yield is critical to making solar energy competitive with grid power. Bekaert’s sawing wire solutions are catering to this trend.
Digging into innovation
In surface mining, huge equipment components, such as shovels, are used to remove overburden and ore from the ground. Strong and long lasting wire rope that is used to make shovel ropes is key to maximizing the efficiency of these machines.
Fueling your business
In the oil & gas industry all over the world Bekaert products play a key role. Whether it concerns onshore or offshore oil extraction or gas mining, Bekaert products contribute to sustainable, safer and more cost-effective operations.
Power hungry: re-energizing the electrical grid in the U.S.A.
Approximately 70% of transmission lines in the U.S.A. are more than 25 years old. In their 2009 Long-Term Reliability Assessment The North American Electric Reliability Corporation reports that there are plans to install approximately 32,000 miles of transmission line throughout North America from 2009 to 2013. Bekaert is working closely with its customers as investment is being made to modernize the aging system.
Alcan Cable, a division of Rio Tinto, is one customer that has partnered with Bekaert. Alcan is a fully integrated manufacturer of aluminum cable, rod and strip products, operating throughout North America. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of aluminum alloy conductor materials used by electrical utilities for the transmission and distribution of power.
Bekaert supplies Alcan with the aluminum conductor steel reinforced and aluminum conductor steel support (ACSR and ACSS) materials used as core support for their aluminum conductors.
Starting in October 2008 and continuing throughout 2009 Alcan and Bekaert joined forces for a project that included the installation of 210 miles of transmission cable across four U.S.A. states. Alcan and Bekaert's close relationship was illustrated midway through the project when Alcan’s contractors were having difficulty getting heavy, 15 000-pound ACSS reels through a mountainous landscape.
“Bekaert seamlessly adjusted the lengths of its reels from 9 388 feet to 7 388 feet in order to help our trucks drive through the mountainous terrain. We were very pleased with Bekaert’s flexibility and quick response to the situation. Because of it we were able to continue our installation, meeting our customer’s delivery requirements,” states Steve Waller, Director of Utility Sales, North America, Alcan Cable.
Over the years, a close relationship has developed between Alcan and Bekaert. “We see Bekaert as a reliable partner for growth and success in the future. Not only are they a supplier with superior stranding capabilities, we also have confidence in Bekaert to meet our strict demands for product quality, prompt deliveries and flexibility in production,” states Lou Vulcano, Director of Procurement and EHS, Alcan Cable.
Any questions, remarks or inquiries? Please feel free to contact us
Related products & applications in Utilities & Energy on Bekaert.com
Sawing the seeds for grid parity
Sawing wire is a high grade steel wire that serves as the abrasive carrier in a multi wire saw, which is used in solar cell production to cut polysilicon ingots into extremely thin wafers. Sawing wire is not a new activity for Bekaert: we have been developing this specific technology for more than two decades. Thanks to our expertise and to a global market approach, Bekaert is today the worldwide market leader in sawing wire for the crystalline photovoltaic industry.
In the last few years we have definitely observed a greater demand for thinner diameters. While in 2006 90% of the demand was for diameters of 160μm, we presently deliver more than 80% of our output at diameters of 120μm or finer. We expect this trend to continue, steered by the move to thinner wafers to lower the cost of ownership and improved efficiency.
Helping the profession reach grid parity, both via performance improvements, value creation and cost reductions is what drives our technology experts. Our ultra tensile technology allows us to produce very thin sawing wires (down to 80μm), resulting in lower kerf loss and hence more wafers per cut for the customer. In addition ever stronger sawing wire leads to less fractures and hence more yield.
To build a sustainable position in the PV wafer market Bekaert constantly invests in the next technologies. That is why we are currently assessing the potential of fixed abrasive wire technology for the industry.
Want to find out more about how we can help you? Then contact us or visit our booth at one of the upcoming PV shows. You can read more about how we help our customers reach grid parity in the article published in PES Magazine of September 09.
Any questions, remarks or inquiries? Please feel free to contact us
Related products & applications in renewables and cleantech
Working the oil sands together with our customers
The rough circumstances in which mining operations take place cause shovel ropes to wear out frequently, resulting in lengthy and expensive downtime for the equipment.
Bekaert Wire Rope Industries (Canada) has been working in close cooperation with one of its customers harnessing the resources of the Alberta oil sands in Canada. The oil sands represent 30% of the world’s oil reserves. The planned expansion over the next few years makes this area the fastest growing surface mining region in North America. As working the oil sands implies special challenges, the Bekaert engineers set out to improve overall rope service life. They observed and tackled two clear issues that affected the shovel rope performance.
Tackling premature rope retirement
First, the bale design forced the ropes to endure a severe bend as the shovel is parked. As a result, the outer wires of the rope were being damaged and wire breaks began to appear early in the rope life cycle. The second issue was related to the loading of the ropes. In typical hard rock mining, the mine wall is blasted in order to fragment it. In the oil sands, on the other hand, the shovel needs to break the bench wall so that the rope loading is high throughout the entire digging cycle. On top of that, oil sand fills the bucket more evenly than rocks and the sticky sand causes the buckets to overfill. As a result, the ropes were being loaded far more heavily than in traditional hard rock mining. Both issues combined led to premature rope retirement.
We initiated a test program designed to target the identified problem areas in close cooperation with the mine personnel. By incorporating a flat wire around the rope in the area where damage was occurring, our engineers provided protection for the rope around the bale. They also incorporated higher tensile wires in the rope, thus resulting in a 20% breaking load increase.
70% reduction in shovel downtime
Initial results have been very promising. Whereas the average service life obtained with standard plastic filled shovel ropes was 700 hours, the average life obtained so far with the test ropes is close to 1200 hours. This has reduced shovel downtime by no less than 70%. Our efforts to provide a total customer solution were greatly appreciated, as we were awarded 100% of the shovel hoist rope business at this mine.
Any questions, remarks or inquiries? Please feel free to contact us
Related products & applications in mining
From well to wellness
From the search for suitable wells to creating the wellness and ambient comfort at people’s homes, Bekaert is present to add value to the oil & gas exploration and distribution process.
Prospection and exploration
In the prospecting phase, Bekaert provides hi-tech wire to reinforce tow leader cables and well-logging cables ¬– cables to attach the marine seismic streamers prospecting the sea – and to protect them from external pressure. These wires also reinforce umbilicals transferring different functions like electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or optical signals to remote operated vehicles (ROVs), for example, which are performing undersea exploration. Bekaert’s high performance cords are used in large bore high pressure hoses. The hoses are used in a variety of activities needed for the exploration of oil and gas in the deep sea such as choke and kill hoses, dredging hoses and rotary drilling hoses. In the exploratory drilling phase, Bekaert wires are used as mooring ropes – usually large 6-strand ropes – to anchor the drilling unit or drilling lines so that measuring instruments can be lowered into the pit.
Oil production, storage and transport
Bekaert products are counted on further down the value chain, once the oil platform has been built and relevant equipment has been installed. Abandonment & Recovery (A&R) winch ropes, which are used to install the pipes that will transport the oil, consist of high tensile rope wire from Bekaert. The flexible pipes that do the actual crude oil transport contain several layers of heavy-duty Bekaert profiled wires. Super high tensile wires for spiral strands (monostrand rope) are used for permanent deepwater mooring for floating oil production platforms. Round and flat armoring wire is used to reinforce production umbilicals.
Other oil platform related functions also rely on Bekaert products. For example, pressure vessels remove sulfates from the seawater as the water needs to be desalinated before it is injected into the oil well to release the oil from the sea bottom. They also supply the oil platform crew with potable water. Bekaert cables make sure the sprinkler hoses can withstand extreme temperatures and Bekaert burners allow of eco-friendly incineration of residual gasses during oil extraction. And Bekaert’s steel cord reinforced thermoplastics strips for water injection pipes provide a viable alternative to existing high maintenance steel pipes.
When the oil or gas is ready for consumption it is transported to the end-consumers. They can use energy-efficient condensation boilers with Bekaert burners installed. Bekaert brings wellness to their houses in an eco-friendly way.
Any questions, remarks or inquiries? Please feel free to contact us
Related products & applications in Petroleum & Gas
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