CARBUROS METÁLICOS: HOW IT ELIMINATED STOPPAGES DUE TO VOLTAGE DIPS IN ITS TARRAGONA HYDROGEN PLANT WITH A ZGR SOLUTION
This is the success story of the solution proposed by ZGR Corporación to Carburos Metálicos, a leading company in the industrial gas sector, in its Tarragona hydrogen plant, which directly supplies the adjacent Repsol refinery, the largest in Spain. Specifically, the medium voltage SET DVR system installed by ZGR has protected the plant on numerous occasions from stoppages due to voltage dips. Read the case that we are sharing with you.
ZGR developed a solution for the full protection of the entire hydrogen generation process
The medium-voltage SET DVR system that ZGR designed and installed continuously supplied practically the entire plant and protected it from any stoppages due to voltage dips
The consequences of an unplanned stoppage due to a voltage dip meant that Carburos Metálicos took a full day in restarting its hydrogen supply to the Repsol refinery, and this in turn meant significant economic losses when restarting the entire process
The ZGR solution installed a few years ago has protected the plant on numerous occasions from stoppages due to voltage dips.
Carburos Metálicos is a leading industrial and medicinal gas company and produces, distributes and sells gases to numerous sectors, from petrochemical to food, laboratories, refrigeration, drinks, metallurgy, health, etc.
Among other merits, it is the only gas company that covers the entire Spanish territory, through a network of 160 distributors that allow more than a 100,000 customers to be served.
Since 1995, it has belonged to the North American group Air Products, a North American multinational that provides service throughout the world, which offers, in addition to gases, high-performance materials and chemical intermediates.
THE CARBUROS METÁLICOS HYDROGEN PLANT IN TARRAGONA, ACTIVE 365/24H, SUPPLIES THE MAIN REPSOL REFINERY IN SPAIN
CARBUROS METÁLICOS has a plant in La Pobla de Mafumet, Tarragona, attached to Repsol´s largest refinery in Spain, for the continuous production and supply of hydrogen to the refinery.
The factory is active 24 hours a day 365 days a year, continuously producing and supplying hydrogen. Hydrogen is a raw material that is absolutely necessary for the refining of Repsol’s hydrocarbons.
THE PROBLEM: PRODUCTION LOSSES DUE TO VOLTAGE DIPS
Despite being supplied directly from the transport line that went directly to the Repsol refinery for the supply of the necessary electrical current, the Carburos Metálicos plant in Tarragona was not free of voltage dips of up to 50% that occurred particularly during the start-up of some powerful motors in the refinery.
Moreover, the installations were in an area in which storms occurred in summer that, occasionally, also caused voltage dips.
It had to be taken into account that the hydrogen production process was sustained by very powerful motors that work at medium voltage (6,6 kV), whose regulation systems are sensitive to dips when they drop below 12 – 15%.
When the voltage drops below this percentage, the motors are stopped automatically for safety reasons, which stops the supply of hydrogen to the refinery and causes an emergency stop at Repsol in a domino effect.
The consequences of an unplanned stoppage meant that Carburos Metálicos took a full day in restarting its hydrogen supply to the Repsol refinery, and this in turn involved significant economic losses until the entire process was restarted.
THE ZGR SOLUTION: THE INSTALLATION OF A MEDIUM-VOLTAGE SET DVR SYSTEM TO PROTECT THE HYDROGEN GENERATION PROCESS
To protect the entire hydrogen generation process, including the motors supplied at medium voltage at 6.6 kV, a 2.4 MW medium voltage SET DVR was installed.
This system ensured a stable 6.6 kV voltage (± 1%), even if the voltage dips went below 40% of the nominal voltage value.
The ZGR medium-voltage SET DVR system continuously supplied practically the entire plant (except minor services and exterior lighting) and principally protected the variable frequency drives of the main medium-voltage motors of the production process, thus eliminating the root of the problems that caused the production process stoppages.
Throughout the time that it has been in operation, the system has protected the Carburos Metálicos hydrogen plant in Tarragona from stoppages due to voltage drops on numerous occasions and, consequently, has prevented the production stoppages of the linked Repsol refinery.
Another example of how the solutions, the knowledge and experience of ZGR in power electronics has been converted into strategies and fundamentals for the viability of a large number of industrial processes.
