Pumping Up Efficiency
When Springfield City, Missouri encountered an issue with its primary municipal wastewater facility, they solicited the expertise of JCI Industries, based in Joplin, Missouri. Collaborating with Yaskawa America, Inc. for over two decades, JCI has been providing comprehensive solutions for water and wastewater treatment facilities, including drive, motor, and pump systems. The Springfield municipal wastewater facility, currently the third largest treatment plant in Missouri, stands as a NACWA Platinum 12 Peak Performance award winner for its low carbon footprint and highly efficient pumping and water purification operations.
- Industrije
- Environmental Protection
- Izdelki
- CIMR-UC - U1000 Serija
Application Challenge
The established system, an 18-pulse Benshaw model AC drive, powered four 350 HP wastewater lift pumps. Approximately 12-13 years into its operational life cycle, it began experiencing technical issues, particularly with its crucial power supply components.
The resolution required meeting two major objectives. Firstly, it was essential to retain the same physical size as the current Benshaw drives, which necessitated the reuse of the existing enclosures. Secondly, the drive's harmonic performance and efficiency needed to meet, if not surpass, the previous standards. Additionally, the utility aimed to minimize their motor drive systems' heat output to lower the ambient temperature of the MCC room and potentially enhance the vibration performance of the pumps.
The Solution
JCI retrofitted the Benshaw drive system with Yaskawa's U1000 Industrial Matrix drive. With the application of direct AC-to-AC technology used by Matrix drives, JCI could dispense with the 18-pulse transformers and magnetic-producing reactors, considerably simplifying the system setup. Also, the intricate external 12-pulse + 6-pulse line side harmonic attenuating power supply was supplanted by the direct AC-to-AC U1000 technology.
Results
The Benshaw drive system's magnetic elements and harmonic attenuation power supply devices were successfully removed by the customer. The U1000 chassis drives were smoothly incorporated into the enclosures, and the principal input circuit breaker was reused. It was also possible to preserve the existing pump system controls. Notably, there were reductions in overall watt loss related to the system, and efficiency saw an improvement of approximately 5% compared to the replaced 18-pulse technology.
Satisfied with the project's outcomes, the customer is now considering retrofitting more drives within this plant and at other sites.
(Source: Yaskawa America, Inc.)