More energy efficiency for water and wastewater

Energy is becoming more and more expensive, including for waterworks and sewage treatment plants. Since the provision of clean drinking water and the treatment of dirty water are energy-intensive at every stage, water suppliers and waste disposal companies are looking for ways to increase the energy efficiency of their systems. ABB is presenting highly efficient drive products that solve exactly this task, as well as other products and services that increase productivity in the water and wastewater industry.

The ACQ580 frequency inverter is specially designed for applications in the water and wastewater industry. It reduces energy consumption not only by controlling the speed of motors, but also using integrated functions such as pump cleaning. It can help users achieve greater energy savings by removing blockages in pumps, allowing them to always run at their optimal operating point. The frequency converter also has integrated energy optimization for maximum torque per ampere, thus also reducing energy requirements.

The ACQ580 is now also available with IP66 protection. This drive is designed to operate in rain, heat, cold, salt spray, dust and other extreme environmental conditions and is fully sealed to protect it from external influences. Typical applications include clarification tanks, aeration systems, flocculation systems and return sludge pumps.

Numerous water suppliers and waste disposal companies have to meet the demands of their local energy suppliers for high network quality. The Ultra-Low Harmonic Drive ACQ580-31 reduces network harmonics by up to 97 percent compared to a conventional frequency converter, ensuring clean power networks, high system efficiency and reliable operation. At a trade fair demo, ABB is demonstrating the harmonic reducing performance of the ACSQ580-31 compared to other frequency converters. A regenerative converter and conventional converters with a passive filter or with a choke and without additional components serve as a comparison.

The drive package consisting of an ACQ580 frequency converter and IE5 synchronous reluctance motor enables up to 40 percent energy savings compared to a speed-controlled motor in the lower efficiency class IE3. ABB synchronous reluctance motors in IEC efficiency class IE5 “Ultra Premium Energy Efficiency” combine the performance of the permanent magnet motor with the simplicity and ease of maintenance of the asynchronous motor. In contrast to an asynchronous motor, no induction current flows in its rotor and therefore there are no rotor losses, which makes it extremely efficient. Compared to asynchronous motors, they also run quieter and generate little heat. The latter is also an advantage when used in waterworks, as less condensation occurs due to the lower ambient temperatures there.

Digital services are being used more and more in the water and wastewater industry to monitor the drive technology in pumping stations or elevated tanks, which are often further away. With ABB Ability Condition Monitoring, ABB offers digital, cloud-based services for holistic condition monitoring of frequency converters and motors. One such solution is the ABB Ability Smart Sensor. It provides information on operating and condition parameters of the engines such as vibrations, temperature or indicators calculated from these, such as bearing condition.

The new PLC product series AC500-eCo V3 offers a modular expansion concept for individual solutions with a high degree of flexibility. CPUs with different performance characteristics support efficient engineering for every need. The entire AC500 V3 platform is certified by TÜV Süd according to IEC 62443-4-1/-2 and therefore meets the current cyber security requirements.