AEL Intelligent Blasting cuts energy consumption by 500 kWh per hour

Friday, July 20, 2018
AEL Intelligent Blasting cuts energy consumption by 500 kWh annually

This 720 Mtpd nitric acid plant in South Africa saves 3.6 M Rand annually on operating costs, thanks to an upgrade from direct-on-line operation to VLT® drive control of electric pumps and motors.

For many years, motors and pumps in the process cooling water (PCW) system operated direct-on-line. With the upgrade, AEL Intelligent Blasting aimed to improve efficiency and reliability by introducing AC drive motor control. They chose VLT® AQUA Drive FC 202 and VLT® HVAC Drive FC 102 drives from Danfoss, based on their ability to ensure stable operation despite unreliable mains power supply. These drives offer Automatic Energy Optimization and kinetic back-up features to support highly efficient and reliable plant operation.

The remarkable payback time of only 18 months reflects the vast improvement in process cooling water efficiency enjoyed by AEL Intelligent Blasting.  

“The drives were selected based on the kinetic back-up feature, which is valuable to us because of our unstable electricity supply and a lot of small voltage dips causing our facilities to trip out. With this feature we can keep the plant online without any issues, therefore saving millions,” explains Johan Engelbrecht, AEL Nitrates MV Electrical Engineer.

Read more and download

Get more information

Read about VLT® AQUA Drive
Read about VLT® HVAC Drive

Read about Danfoss Drive solutions for the mining industry:
- conveyors
- cranes
- pumps
- underground ventilation

Other case studies related to pumps

  • if (isSmallPicture) { ; } else if (isBigColumns) { } else { }
    Decarbonizing the dredge: Electrified high-pressure pump for horizontal drilling

    NETHERLANDS: B&P Electric Motors electrified its mobile high-pressure pump unit for horizontal drilling. VACON® NXP Liquid Cooled drives ensure high efficiency and resilience in harsh conditions, when forcing soil through pipes up to 3km long.

  • if (isSmallPicture) { ; } else if (isBigColumns) { } else { }
    VACON® 1000 MV drives power deep pumping at Los Gatos mine

    MEXICO: Faced with the challenge of pumping stagnant water from depths of more than 400 meters, the Cerro Los Gatos mine opted for medium-voltage variable speed pump control using the VACON® 1000 drive from Danfoss. Drives were delivered and installed in the record time of 14 weeks from factory acceptance test.

  • if (isSmallPicture) { AEL Intelligent Blasting cuts energy consumption by 500 kWh per hour; } else if (isBigColumns) { AEL Intelligent Blasting cuts energy consumption by 500 kWh per hour } else { AEL Intelligent Blasting cuts energy consumption by 500 kWh per hour }
    AEL Intelligent Blasting cuts energy consumption by 500 kWh per hour

    This 720 Mtpd nitric acid plant in South Africa saves 3.6 M Rand annually on operating costs, thanks to VLT® drive control of electric pumps and motors.

  • if (isSmallPicture) { VLT® Midi Drive for precise actuator control; } else if (isBigColumns) { VLT® Midi Drive for precise actuator control } else { VLT® Midi Drive for precise actuator control }
    VLT® Midi Drive for precise actuator control

    With its compact and temperature-resistant design, the drive integrates easily into actuators from Schiebel Antriebstechnik GmbH, providing high-precision flow control.

  • if (isSmallPicture) { 30% energy reduction for Yamana Gold; } else if (isBigColumns) { 30% energy reduction for Yamana Gold } else { 30% energy reduction for Yamana Gold }
    30% energy reduction for Yamana Gold

    VACON® AC drives improve the operation of underground ventilation and pumping systems and cut energy consumption of many application processes.

  • if (isSmallPicture) { Stable production of critical processes at DINA; } else if (isBigColumns) { Stable production of critical processes at DINA } else { Stable production of critical processes at DINA }
    Stable production of critical processes at DINA

    VLT® AutomationDrives ensure precise and exact pressure regulation of one of world’s largest ethylene pumps and lower the chemical plant’s total cost of ownership.