Electricity and Control May 2020

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Safe panel design in a hazardous facility By 2030, only 20% of the total number of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that were sold in 2015 will be available on the market. The HFC phase-down is a crucial aspect of the EU Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-Gas) regulation and will influence the use of refrigerants in all end-use markets, including applications in the manufacture of food and beverages. Infrastructure to support the F‑Gas phasedown – particularly the reclamation of existing refrigerants – is being developed by companies such as A-Gas, with a view to overcoming potential shortages. As a business that supplies refrigerants world-wide, A-Gas is investing substantially in reclamation and recovery. It has developed its first European refrigerant separation vessel in Eygelshoven, in the Netherlands. The new facility is designed to split mixed, reclaimed refrigerant into distinct products for re-sale and buy-back schemes, to save customers money on buying virgin refrigerant and alleviate the demand for new HFCs. CP Automation has supplied core components for the new refrigerant separation vessel. As it is a hazardous environment, effective panel design to house the control and safety components was essential. A-Gas contracted UK-based G&P Controls, to design the panels collaboratively for it. To suit the given small footprint, and recognising space was at a premium, G&P Controls had to consider the placement of equipment carefully. In addition, harmonic filters and motor chokes were to be added to reduce harmonics and the dV/dT on the motor insulation. This was important to protect the motor and the drive, which would otherwise be vulnerable to long cable distances that might lead to high voltage rises. When sourcing and building in the control and safety elements, using A-Gas’s non-standard panel design, and in sourcing the power conditioning equipment, G&P Controls consulted Phil Perkins at Routeco, with a view to using its range of Allen Bradley Powerflex drives. Perkins said: “I work with a lot of automation engineers and panel builders. We find in almost every case a project is carefully planned to ensure the panel and its contents is capable of controlling the machinery and components downstream. "However, in almost every case we also see a lack of planning when it comes to ensuring that what has been designed is not going to cause complications for the clean distribution of power on the whole site. “We find time and again, electricians are re-setting panels, and keep re-setting panels. Whole plants keep tripping out at enormous cost and hardship to the business. Components continually fail and just get replaced, with engineers or consultant engineers charging a lot to firefight but not rectifying the issues that are causing the problem. “To an automation engineer and many electrical engineers, this is a dark art, one they steer clear of if

they can. We were lucky to have a good relationship with CP Automation and the team was able to identify and resolve every issue in this area of expertise.” CP Automation supplied the components to meet specifications and helped improve the design of the system, using additional products to make it more robust. Most of the items supplied were from stock, including a Sine Tamer TVSS surge protector, harmonic filter, ac line choke, EMC filter and motor choke. John Mitchell of CP Automation commented: “Advising and supplying the safety-critical parts was simple. Although this was hardly an out-of-the-box application, as a specialist in this area it is what we do every day. We had to consider every millimetre of space in the panel and we had everything G&P Controls needed.” With all parts installed, the panel was exported from the UK to the Netherlands. A-Gas has since commissioned the first of its facilities. It will bring further separators, filling stations and storage tanks online to meet demand in Europe for new refrigerant gases in the run up to 2030 and beyond. For more information contact CP Automation. email: john.mitchell@cpaltd.net visit: www.cpaltd.net

Control panels that work, controlling machinery and components downstream and ensuring stability in power distribution site-wide.

10 Electricity + Control MAY 2020