Invertek Drives in POM Industry

Problem
A Malaysia Palm Oil Mill (POM) customer had encountered some issues with their existing inverter on their Induced Draft (ID) Fan. However, as there is no on-site support available by the manufacturer, they had difficulties resolving it. 

Solution
Combustion plays a crucial role in producing steam within a boiler. Irrespective of the fuel type employed (solid, liquid, or gaseous), the essential elements for efficient combustion are undeniable: Fuel, Heat, and Air. Boiler manufacturers employ Mechanical Draught Fans to aid in supplying the necessary air for the combustion process and to guarantee its proper execution. In their operations, steam boilers primarily rely on Forced Draft Fans (FD Fans) or Induced Draft Fans (ID Fans).

Forced Draft (FD) Fans propel air into the furnace to support combustion, whereas Induced Draft (ID) Fans draw flue gases out of the steam boiler post-combustion. FD Fans are typically positioned at the boiler's inlet to deliver high-pressure air into the combustion chamber. In contrast, ID Fans are situated between the dust collector and chimney, serving to expel gases from the boiler, therefore, they utilise negative pressure conditions by creating suction to remove gases from the application, thus they operate in high temperature environments, prone to temperature extremes.

As the ID Fans ranges from 90kW to 250kW, we introduced our Invertek Optidrive P2. It shuts down faster and can reset procedures that saves time for system maintenance. This allows for quicker motor speed adjustments to mitigate overheating, pressure fluctuations or other operational issues to resolve any unexpected problems.

Our Malaysian salesperson dedicated their time and effort to guide the customer in the adoption of this new inverter. With its easy commissioning and simple setup, setting the new Optidrive on their application helps to make their monitoring processes easier to track and manage, enabling easier tracking of any troubleshooting concerns. In the Malaysia POM industry, most mills use autotrans with slip ring motor. However, autotrans has higher starting current as compared to VFDs, resulting in operators having to turn off other machines to power up the boiler using generators, before converting them into turbine, resulting in high energy wastage. Variable frequency drives will slow down the motor speed based on application requirements, thus providing a better solution.