Melhoria na eficiência energética de trens de carga em ferrovias heavy haul - estudo de caso da estrada de ferro Carajás

Abstract

The search for improvement in industrial processes is a basic premise for business sustainability and market competitiveness today. The aim of this study was based on energy efficiency, and it affects directly the operational business costs, impact on the productivity of teams and assets and also add potential improvements in the industrial environmental impacts, more significantly, in companies such as Vale S.A. that work with raw material extraction. The main objective of this work was to improve the energy efficiency of trains that transport iron ore on the Carajás Railway, whose focus was on the review of operational driving standards based on more efficient procedures. In addition to proving the technical feasibility of the operational improvements identified, great potentials were obtained to reduce the energy consumption (efficiency) of the trains and, consequently, the fuel consumption used in the locomotives, reaching the order of millions of dollars annually. In addition to direct return, the environmental impacts can be reduced by avoiding the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere if the proposal were implemented