Utilization of Coal in Metal Industries (Case of Akaki Metal Products Factory)
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Date
2007-11
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
The ever increasing prices, poor energy source mix and limited supplies of energy resource is
becoming a bottle neck for sustainable development strategies of the country and to achieve the
millennium development goals. To alleviate this development obstacle, the country has to find
another alternative locally available resource that can substitute the imported energy source
(petroleum products). One of the potential resources the country owns is coal, greater than 300
million tons of proved lignite coal reserves in its different geological parts: Yayu, Moye and Delbi
as the top three major reserve areas with 229, 40-50 and 20 million tons respectively and there are
more than 23 occurrence localities identified yet.
This research raises and discuses the question of how coal resource in the country can be used in
metal industries to substitute imported heavy fuel oils based on the current technology & demands
to secure (facilitate) sustainable development of the country. This thesis therefore, is dedicated to
demonstrate how coal can be used in metal industries and to propose a better system for both
economic and environmental performances advantages.
The energy demand and consumption of the selected factories (1) Ethiopian Iron and Steel
Factory, (2) Akaki Metal Products Factory and (3) Zuqalla Steel Rolling Mill Enterprise is meet
from heavy fuel oil and electric power. Except, Akaki Spare Parts and Hand Tools Share
Company which uses electric power as a major source of energy, heavy fuel oil accounts the major
share.
For the Case Factory, the existing energy conversion system (oil fire furnace) is more flexible to
use for the combustion of coal. By modifying to fluidize bed combustion, it is possible to utilize
coal with better efficiency and easy control of emissions (sulfur and nitrogen oxides).
Therefore, the indigenous coal can play significant role to reduce the hard currency expenditure
for the imported petroleum products and improve the energy source mix of the country, more over,
coal in this application area will help the country to maintain the economic development strategies
and make Ethiopia self-reliant in the energy supply
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Case of Akaki Metal Products Factory