In this article
Full power, zero compromise
A turnkey upgrade of critical atomiser systems to protect uptime, safety, and performance
Industry Sector:
Renewables / Recycling
Application:
Atomiser drive and control system upgrade for emissions tratment
Actual Saving:
£40,000 energy savings
£120,000 risk mitigation/day
Payback period:
Immediate
Product/Service:
- Drive and control system upgrade
- Bespoke OEM design
- Install and commissioning
Customer Benefits:
- £40k annual energy savings
- Zero unplanned downtime
- Reduced maintenance
- Faster fault detection
- Enhanced safety
A major UK Waste-to-Energy facility processes 350,000 tonnes of waste annually and generates 25MW of electricity – enough to power 25,000 homes. Strict environmental legislation requires the plant’s emissions to be thoroughly scrubbed to avoid contamination.
To achieve this, a lime and carbonate slurry is sprayed through atomisers, producing a powerful, fine mist that removes harmful chemicals, including dioxins, before emissions reach the atmosphere. Without fully operational atomisers, the plant cannot run, and any downtime would incur enormous losses of £60,000+ per day, per boiler.
Challenge
ERIKS’ connection with the site stretches back over 20 years. The original atomiser drives and control panels were designed and installed by ERIKS and have delivered reliable performance for two decades.
Over the years, ERIKS has also provided onsite maintenance services, giving the customers engineers confidence that the plant was in safe hands. so, when the original systems began showing signs of obsolescence, it was a natural choice to reach out to ERIKS.
After more than two decades of faithful service, the original atomiser drives and control systems were beginning to show their age. The drives themselves were becoming obsolete, with no OEM support available and an increasingly limited supply of spare parts.
The old castell interlock system was causing control issues during rapid changeovers, while motor chokes were overheating frequently and requiring refurbishment every two years. Perhaps most critically, the limited redundancy in the system presented a single point of failure per boiler, which risked costly downtime that the facility simply could not afford.
The overall drive and control technology was also contributing to premature motor wear and increasing maintenance demands. With compliance, safety, and plant reliability at stake, a comprehensive turnkey upgrade solution was essential.
Solution
ERIKS collaborated closely with the atomiser OEM and customers engineers to design a modern, future-proof solution that would address all these challenges. The obsolete drives were replaced with state-of-the-art Yaskawa A1000 inverters, while newly designed high-speed chokes were optimised to reduce eddy currents and extend motor bearing life significantly.
A key improvement was the implementation of a duty/standby configuration for each boiler stream, ensuring redundancy and uninterrupted operation even if one system required maintenance. New electrical control panels were installed, complete with integrated Siemens PLC and HMI systems, alongside world-class PILZ safety interlocks for enhanced protection.
The project was delivered as a complete turnkey solution, encompassing electrical installation, NIC/EIC certification, factory and site acceptance testing, commissioning, and full documentation.
Remarkably, the entire project was executed within a one-month summer outage, with ERIKS completing the work in just 10 working days. Pre-commissioning and auto-tuning ensured seamless startup, while the new system was fully integrated with the plant’s DCS for comphrensive telemetry and diagnostics.
Result
The new system delivered significant improvements in reliability and redundancy. The duty/standby design combined with modern drives dramatically reduced the risk of unplanned outages, ensuring continuous atomiser operation when the plant needs it most.
Safety improvements were equally impressive, with zero-speed interlocks, advanced emergency stops, and PILZ-certified safety systems now protecting both personnel and equipment.
Maintenance requirements have been substantially reduced thanks to the optimised chokes and enhanced motor protection, which have extended equipment life and reduced the need for routine intervention and downtime. Energy efficiency has also improved significantly, with current consumption reduced by 10-20 amps depending on load.
Based on system optimisation, this equates to £20,000 savings per system annually – £40,000 across the plant. Additional savings stem from upgrading to the latest drive technology, optimising parameterisation, and reducing bearing eddy currents.
The new system also provides much better operational visibility. Engineers can now monitor the atomisers in real-time and spot potential issues before they become problems, helping to plan maintenance more effectively.
This project perfectly demonstrates ERIKS’ ability to combine technical excellence with genuine long-term partnership. By upgrading a system originally installed over 20 years ago, and having provided onsite support throughout the intervening years, we were the natural choice to deliver a safe, reliable, and energy-efficient solution.
