2011-11-01 - An award-winning ABB motor and drive solution for a leading European producer of industrial minerals has reduced the amount of power and water used in a primary pumping application by 50 percent and the number of pumps deployed by half.
By
ABB Communications
The solution was installed at the end of 2009 at the Kimito feldspar plant in Finland, which is owned by Sibelco Nordic, a leading producer of industrial minerals in the Nordic countries and eastern Europe.
The plant produces feldspar and ground quartz for the glass and ceramics industries, as well as industrial sand for foundries. Rock from an adjacent feldspar quarry is ground at the factory and the minerals separated, dried and cleaned. Production capacity is 100,000 tons of graded minerals a year.
Situated on the Baltic coast, the plant has its own harbor and uses large quantities of seawater to clean and process the minerals. Prior to the installation of the ABB solution, the seawater was pumped into the plant in two phases using three pumps.
Typically for pumping applications, the pumps were oversized and were operating continuously at full power, consuming large amounts of energy and incurring excessive maintenance needs.
The pump and pipeline through which seawater is pumped to clean and process the minerals.By replacing the three pumps with correctly dimensioned high-pressure pumps and equipping each pump with an ABB high efficiency IE2 motor and an ACS800 variable speed drive, Sibelco achieved some remarkable results.
Pump energy consumption has been slashed by half from around 100 megawatt-hours (MWh) to 55 MWh a month, and the number of pumps deployed has been reduced from three pumps to two. Process efficiency and process control have improved considerably and the volume of seawater used has dropped by 50 percent.
The ABB motor and drive solution has made it possible to control the pumps and the consumption of water according to the needs of the process. Water pressure is now more even, which has reduced pipeline leaks and the need for mechanical maintenance.
Summing up the benefits of the solution, plant manager Tomas Stenström says: “We have reduced our consumption of energy and water. Moreover, we have reduced our maintenance costs and there are fewer stoppages. Pump control is more flexible, and we need one less pump.”
The solution was the recipient of a joint ABB and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) energy efficiency award in 2009. Sibelco won the award for the size of the energy savings, the company’s energy efficiency culture, and the clear measurement data of the results achieved.