Boosting energy efficiency in cement production
Reference Duyen Ha cement
Energy efficiency is more important than ever in cement production. When the Duyen Ha cement plant in Vietnam was eager to identify energy efficiency potential, a modern SINAMICS* PERFECT HARMONY GH180 (now Innomotics Perfect Harmony GH180) solution helped them achieve tremendous energy, COâ‚‚, and cost savings. As Vietnam's first company to run SIDRIVE IQ* (now Innomotics Inspire IQ), Duyen Ha has also taken the first step toward a digital production future.
Efficiency and sustainability go hand-in-hand
Bustling cities, colorful markets, and some of the world’s most scenic sights are what come to mind when we think about Vietnam today. But the country is also the third-largest producer of cement and clinker worldwide, and Duyen Ha Cement Factory is one of its largest producers.
On to the next level
The Duyen Ha cement plant was built in 2006 in Ninh Van commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh Province, with a second production line added in 2010. The plant has a total capacity of roughly three million tons per year. The company is very interested in efficiency improvements: This is due in part to Duyen Ha’s new sustainability goals, but of course it’s also for economic reasons: The company has earned a reputation over the years as one of the most competitive brands, and it has a good market position to defend.
You can imagine that with an annual capacity like ours – which equals more than 100 wagons of cement in a single day – every improvement in the production process means a positive change to the bottom line.
Ngo The Phuc, Production Director, Duyen Ha Cement Factory
Clever: Change a running system!
When you’ve reached the end of the line in terms of the productivity and sustainability of an existing technology, it’s time to look for other potentials in the plant that can be realized by changing individual components. That’s why Duyen Ha’s process technologists talked to Innomotics (former Siemens Large Drives) service experts on-site about their options and opportunities for getting more out of their powerful electrical drive systems at different stages of the production process.
A fan is a fan – or isn’t it?
One example is the 2.8-MW induced draft fan in the first production line that pulls in fresh air for an optimal combustion result in the rotary kiln. When the discussions began, this machine was still running on technology from 2006, which meant that the airflow was controlled by a mechanical valve and the motor was always running at full speed.
Supported by Innomotics (former Siemens* Large Drives), the fan drive system was analyzed, and since energy was being wasted by the inlet valve, it was decided that the required air flow and/or pressure would be achieved by controlling the fan speed. A SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180 (now Innomotics Perfect Harmony GH180) inverter with cell bypass and fan redundancy functions was installed, and now the fan always uses exactly as much power as the process requires in real time.
Massive savings – and higher reliability to boot
After two years in operation, the energy savings from this single application amounted to approximately 8,811 MWh, which translated into cost savings of about US$ 550,000. What’s more, the costs for maintenance of the mechanical valve, motor slipring, and carbon brushes were also eliminated, amounting to further savings of US$ 32,000 during the same period. On top of that, Duyen Ha didn’t experience a single downtime with the new drive technology in this two-year period, a completely convincing outcome – which led to an order of five more SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180s (now Innomotics Perfect Harmony GH180) for other applications in the plant. As a result, the energy saving has soared from 19% to 34% compared with the period before the retrofit.
We didn’t have a single day of downtime during the two-year period since installation. The ultimate outcome was completely convincing.
Ngo The Phuc, Production Director, Duyen Ha Cement Factory
Inspire IQ (former SIDRIVE IQ): Ready for future improvements
In 2022, Duyen Ha decided to take the next step toward digitalizing their production equipment by implementing Inspire IQ (former SIDRIVE IQ) in the latest drive installation. Inspire IQ monitors the performance of the drive system in the application and can detect mechanical or electrical anomalies long before they lead to actual problems in the plant.
The advantage is obvious: Plant operators know that a particular component needs a service appointment so early that they can easily plan the service visit to fit in a scheduled maintenance session. In addition, maintenance sessions are shorter simply because the Innomotics (former Siemens Large Drives) service experts know in advance from the data analyses what to expect, and any spare parts that may be needed can be ordered in advance.
More options for the process
With its best-in-class 96.5% efficiency, the SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH 180 converters (now Innomotics Perfect Harmony GH180) in conjunction with SIDRIVE IQ (now Innomotics Inspire IQ) guarantee the highest efficiency and maximum reliability. They enable Duyen Ha to stay one step ahead of their competition and achieve their economic goals – and also make a decisive contribution to a more sustainable production. Even though Duyen Ha is currently only using the basic option of the SIDRIVE IQ Suite (now Innomotics IQ Suite) for their SINAMICS PERFECT HARMONY GH180s (now Innomotics Perfect Harmony GH180), they have laid the foundation for future process optimization steps based on data from live operation, as part of the modular SIDRIVE IQ (now Innomotics Inspire IQ) service offering.
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