Product category:
Motors and Variable speed drives
News Release from: Emotron | Subject: Lantmannen variable speed drives
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 08 June 2006
VSD fan control brings considerable
savings
When Lantmannen installed Emotron variable speed drives to control the fans used for drying grain, the result was inevitable - simplified control and reduced costs
When Lantmannen installed Emotron variable speed drives to control the fans used for drying grain, the result was simplified control and reduced costs The process was optimised and equipment wear reduced
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 1 Sep 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Lantmannen is one of Sweden's largest groups in the food and agricultural industry.
The company in Helsingborg cleans, dries and stores grain, which is then sold to the food industry or used in their own feed factory.
Every year 400,000 tonnes of grain are handled.
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When the fan control needed modernising, Emotron was their choice.
"We wanted a supplier who could guarantee a high service level," says Filip Schiott, manager of the electrician's department.
"Emotron also offered a complete solution adapted to our needs".
Autumn is a hectic period when four 35 meter high driers take care of large quantities of damp grain.
During the summer the driers are used to cool the grain in order to prevent vermin.
In so called cyclones, large fans create an air flow that throws out chaff and dust.
The fans are controlled by variable speed drives from Emotron.
"Constant air flow is critical," says Filip Schiott.
"We want to get rid of chaff and dust, but not the seed.
This is ensured by the variable speed drive sensing the flow and continuously regulating the speed of the fan motor".
"This new solution has made our job easier," says silo operator Jan Nordqvist: "We can now monitor and control the process from the control room, instead of regulating the air flow manually with dampers on site".
When the air flow was regulated with dampers, the motors were running at the same speed all the time.
Regulating with variable speed drives means the speed is now continuously adjusted to meet the actual need.
The result is optimised operation and reduced equipment wear.
The solution also improves working conditions, since the operators spend less time in the dusty and noisy premises.
The dusty environment puts very high demands on equipment installed on the premises.
IP54 classification is required, but to further protect the variable speed drives Emotron developed a complete solution with customised cabinets.
The equipment in the cabinet is cooled by outdoor air blown in with a fan controlled by another variable speed drive.
The air also creates pressure that keeps fine dust from getting in.
"This solution was decisive in our choice of Emotron," says Filip Schiott.
"We also appreciate the user-friendly control panels on the cabinet front and the possibility to set which process values are displayed".
Emotron specialises in solutions for applications such as fans, pumps, compressors, crushers and mixers.
Energy savings is one of the main customer benefits.
"Many companies still regulate flow and pressure with valves and dampers instead of controlling motor speed," says Paul Gustavsson, sales and marketing manager at Emotron.
"They can achieve considerable savings by investing in more efficient operation, not the least from reduced energy consumption".
Motor driven systems today stand for two thirds of the Swedish industry's consumption of electrical power.
Industrial fans alone consumed approximately 10 TWh in 2002, at a cost of about Euro 650 million, and corresponding to the yearly production of one and a half nuclear power plants.
Worldwide only about 5 percent of the electrical motors are controlled by variable speed drives, yet they are calculated to have saved the yearly production of 20-25 power plants.
Considering the high energy prices of today it is obvious that great savings can be made, in money as well as in environmental impact.
This article was provided by Karin Bergkvist, from Emotron AB, Sweden.
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