Product category:
Level and tank contents instrumentation
News Release from: Siemens Automation and Drives | Subject: Siemens VSD and EnviroRanger
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 February 2005
Improving process efficiency at
Glenfiddich.
The historic Glenfiddich whisky distillery is saving energy and money thanks to an innovative water level control and pumping system, using modern technology but retaining the original processes
The historic Glenfiddich whisky distillery in the Highlands of Scotland is saving energy and saving money thanks to an innovative water level control and pumping system critical to the distillation process Key to making these savings are variable speed drives supplied by Siemens Automation and Drives, controlled from two EnviroRanger ERS500 ultrasonic level measurement systems from Siemens Process Instruments
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 10 Apr 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Glenfiddich was founded in 1886 by William Grant, and on Christmas day 1887, the first Glenfiddich spirit trickled from the stills.
Today Glenfiddich is the best-selling single malt Scotch whisky in the world - one in every five bottles of single malt whisky sold in the world is a bottle of Glenfiddich.
In the distillation process, the wash which is created from the fermentation of the malted barley is distilled in copper pots that exactly match the shape and size of the original stills bought over a century ago by William Grant.
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Continual heating gradually turns the alcohol to vapour, which rises through the narrowing neck of the still and is guided downwards through a water-cooled condenser.
At this stage the condensate contains about 21% alcohol, and the distillation process is repeated in smaller spirit stills.
The vaporised alcohol is drawn off and condensed as before, with the final liquid now legally a bonded, taxable spirit.
Running and monitoring the distillation process is the responsibility of a stillman, and is a delicate operation where any mistake can ruin the whiskys flavour.
Only the fine middle cut, or 'heart' of the distillation is retained for maturation, which the stillman catches at the flick of a tap.
Crucial to the process, then, is the cooling of the condensate.
The water for the cooling operation comes from a storage dam, which is in turn kept topped up by pumping from a nearby pond formed from the Glenfiddich river.
"We use two pumps to push the water up against gravity to the storage dam, ensuring we have a reliable water supply for the condensation process says Derek Matheson of Glenfiddichs.
"Historically we had run the pumps at fixed speed, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, but we began to consider whether we could increase efficiency without compromising supply.
Looking around for systems which would provide this efficiency boost, Glenfiddich highlighted the EnviroRanger ERS500, an innovative ultrasonic level measurement and water distribution system from Siemens Process Instruments (which consolidates the instrumentation product offerings previously supplied through Milltronics).
Using non-contact ultrasonic technology and patented echo processing techiques, the EnviroRanger provides accurate monitoring and control of liquid levels, using control outputs to variable speed drives for more efficient pump operation, and eliminating the need for any further discrete control equipment.
Siemens MicroMaster variable speed drives for the pumps were recommended, to work in conjunction with the EnviroRanger.
Two MicroMaster inverters were duly installed, using a Profibus connection to the EnviroRanger, to obtain the required control signals based on the water level in the storage dam.
A key advantage of the system is that the pumps no longer need to be driven at the fixed speed.
Since the power used by a pump is proportional to the cube of speed, a relatively small reduction in speed can give a much larger percentage reduction in energy.
There are secondary benefits, as well.
Because the MicroMaster drives ramp-up the pumps to the required speed, and then ramp them back down at programmed rates for starting and stopping, the motors are not hit by the huge initial staring torque that comes with direct-on-line starting, so avoiding wear, reducing maintenance and lengthening the operating lifespan.
"With the new control system in place, we are accurately controlling the pumps so that water delivery precisely matches demand, says Matheson.
"That means we are making significant energy savings.
And, because the package is highly cost-effective, those energy savings have resulted in a genuine cost reduction.
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