Location: United Arab Emirates
Industry: Manufacturing
Customer: Inter-Continental Leaf Tobacco Company LLC
Background
Our Dubai-based customer, Inter-Continental Leaf Tobacco Company LLC, faced persistent challenges related to power quality in their tobacco plant operations. The use of drives and rectifier loads in their processing and packaging activities gave rise to significant harmonics, while linear loads produced reactive power. Their efforts to stabilize the Power Factor using existing capacitor banks were counterproductive; instead of offering a solution, the capacitor banks aggravated the harmonic issue. With a pressing need to align with IEEE 519 harmonic standards and achieve a Power Factor of 0.95 as per the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) guidelines, the company sought out Comsys in 2022 for an innovative and effective remedy.
Challenge
Poor power quality, primarily from harmonics and reactive power, began causing unplanned production stops – a severe impediment to efficiency and profitability. The company aimed not only to improve power quality for machine longevity and efficiency, but also to strengthen the reliability and sustainability of their entire plant. They sought a power quality solution that would not create resonance and could meet the stringent requirements of IEEE 519 and DEWA standards.
Solution
After attending our ADF Academy, the company’s representatives successfully installed the filters themselves. Comsys then remotely accessed the systems via the WUI and successfully commissioned them from Sweden. The outcomes were promising: harmonics remained well within IEEE 519 limits, and the reactive power was dynamically stabilized at 0.95 across varying plant scenarios.
Several reasons motivated the company to choose ADF over competitors:
- Outstanding technical support from Comsys
- Unmatched quality of the ADF products
- Advanced technology
- Hassle-free support via WUI
- Comsys’s deep-rooted experience in power quality and active filtering
Result
Today, Inter-Continental enjoys enhanced power quality. The Power Factor has settled at 0.95, harmonics are safely within IEEE 519 limits, and the ADF functions at only 50% capacity, indicating room for future scaling. Their satisfaction is a demonstration of the efficacy of our ADF solutions and the unparalleled support Comsys offers.
We have installed 2 Comsys ADF P300/300A in 2 of our 5 LV Rooms. From the initial introduction, proposal, training and commissioning it was very obvious that Comsys is a professional company with quality products. Initially we were concerned about the sizing of the ADFs. While Comsys recommended a 300A configuration, we were inclined to opt for a 450A setup. However, after further consultation, we decided to proceed with the 300A ADFs as suggested by Comsys. After commissioning 300A ADFs in both LV rooms, the harmonics were well within IEEE 519 limits and PF above 95% while utilising less than 50% of available power.