Wastewater treatment, water utilities, pipeline pumping
Municipal wastewater plant with turbo blower VFDs: total harmonic current distortion exceeded IEEE 519 limits at the point of common coupling. Three-party solution — utility, municipality, and Mirus — achieved ITDD (Individual Total Demand Distortion) compliance using Lineator filters. Efficiency improved and the plant qualified for utility incentives unavailable under non-compliant harmonic conditions.
Pipeline pumping station with generator-fed VFDs: harmonic current from the drives caused the generator to be significantly oversized — adding capital cost and reducing fuel efficiency. Mirus sinewave filter reduced harmonic current to allow generator rightsizing, improving fuel efficiency and reducing the generator procurement cost. Field results show measured harmonic distortion and generator loading before and after.
GRYAAB Gothenburg sewage works used variable-speed pumps to process wastewater — but VFD harmonic currents limited pump output to below the theoretical maximum. Active harmonic filter installation optimised VFD electrical behaviour, enabling 30% more throughput during peak demand periods. Energy savings were a secondary benefit — the primary gain was process capacity.
A Hawaiian utility’s water supply pumps — driven by 3-phase motors — were burning out within one year of installation due to high voltage and phase imbalance. Voltage unbalance caused negative-sequence currents to overheat motor windings, dramatically shortening service life. MicroPlanet voltage regulation and balancing equipment extended motor life to near-nameplate expectancy.
GRYAAB Ryaverket sewage works in Gothenburg — one of Scandinavia’s largest treatment plants — used VFD-controlled pumps. Comsys ADF active harmonic filter optimised VFD electrical behaviour, allowing 30% more fluid processing capacity during peak periods with simultaneous energy savings. Duplicate of case 2334 with Comsys branding — same Gothenburg facility.
Pipeline pump stations are moving to larger motors — 4160V in the 2,000–4,000 HP range, 15kV-class at 8,000–15,000 HP — creating significant flicker, 谐波, and reactive power management challenges. American Superconductor’s PQ-SVC system provides dynamic reactive compensation enabling larger motor sizes at existing substations without requiring substation upgrades.
