The cost effects of DSM interventions on vertical roller mills in the cement industry

Load management is a successful way to implement evening load reduction and load shift DSM projects on cement plants. However, finishing grinding in the cement production process requires accurate temperature control. To achieve this, Vertical Roller Mills burn fuel to heat the mill interior before grinding initiates. In this paper the fuel cost of reheating a vertical roller mill after an evening load reduction event is compared to the electricity saving gained. Results show that the standard deviation in the paraffin costs experienced in day to day operations is larger than the paraffin costs generated when reheating a Vertical Roller Mill after a load reduction event. It is concluded in this paper that the paraffin costs are relatively small when compared to the electricity saving gained. It is therefore feasible to implement load management projects on vertical roller mills used for cement milling despite the additional fuel costs experienced.