Power supplies: Pemex uses clean UPS; governments push digital; 600 W 1U form

By Control Engineering Staff January 4, 2007

Power-related developments include use of a clean uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for Mexican state-owned refinery Pemex Refinacion, government policies that promote use of digital power, and a new 1U-sized 600 W power supply with 12-48 dc output. Details of each can help end-users, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators make more informed choices about selections of power technologies and other control components now and in the future.

Protecting sensitive equipment from voltage sags, surges, and interruptions helps keep oil flowing in Northern Mexico, according to Active Power, inventor and manufacturer of energy-efficient critical power systems. Pemex Refinacion, subsidiary of Pemex, Mexico’s national oil company, said to be the world’s largest oil producing entity outside of the Middle East, has deployed the Active Power 900 kVA CleanSource UPS system protect operations at a northern Mexico re-pumping station. “Lack of consistent and reliable power to support our operations was an ever-present management headache before we installed CleanSource UPS,” said Mauro Caceres, superintendente general de Operaciones Ductos Zona Norte for Pemex Refinacion. Operations have improved without “any power-related interruptions.”

The UPS conditions power to run equipment and provides backup power in the event of a commercial power failure. The system also recorded commercial power glitches—164 in the first 24 hours the Pemex UPS system was running—that can wreak havoc on sensitive equipment if the power is not conditioned properly. “Motors and turbines in our pumping stations have very sensitive controls and quality power is crucial for efficient operations,” said Caceres. “The main commercial power supply coming in is inconsistent and unreliable, causing costly service disruptions and making accurate supply planning nearly impossible.” Jim Clishem, president and CEO of Active Power, says there’s no better system than this flywheel-based UPS system, because “it is more cost-effective and is inherently more reliable than conventional UPS solutions.”

Active Power ‘s representative in Northern Mexico, IAMSA, was awarded the public bid for the PEMEX Zaragoza Station project. Pemex Refinacion’s operation in Victoria Zaragoza, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, is one of 18 re-pumping stations used in pumping crude oil, gasoline, and diesel from Tamaulipas to Chihuahua. The stations operate in series and depend on one another—if one is down, the others must cease pumping. The UPS covers interruptions under 60 seconds; a generator handles longer power outages.

Tamura AAD600 Series of single output switching power supplies offers 600 W of power in 1U size for industrial, networking, data communications, and telecommunications applications.

Emerging government policies in Asia, Europe and North America are expected to help drive the adoption of digital power technologies, according to the latest analysis from Darnell Group Inc. Several recent developments in government policies, combined with the maturing nature of digital power conversion, are converging to accelerate adoption of digital power in a variety of applications. “The European Union’s recently announced action plan to cut energy consumption by 20% before 2020, combined with recent and pending actions from the Energy Star Program in the U.S. and policy developments in China and other countries, will provide a boost to the adoption of digital power,” according to Linnea Brush, Darnell Group senior research analyst. Click here for a PDF about the related report.

AAD600 Series of single output switching power supplies offers 600 W of tightly regulated power in a compact package (9 x 4 x 1.59-in.), making it ideal for low profile, 1U-high applications, says Tamura Corp . It offers single outputs of 12, 15, 24, 28, 36, and 48 V dc and feature a universal ac input range (85-264 V ac, 47-63 Hz) with active power factor correction for EN61000-3-2 Class D Compliance. It has built-in cooling fans, over-current, over-temperature, and over-voltage protection circuits. All models are RoHS compliant; qualified to UL60950-1, CSA 22.2 60950-1-03, BAUART EN60950-1 safety standards; offer CB Reports (IEC60950-1); bear the CE Mark (LVD); and are rated for EN55022 (Level B) and FCC Part 15 Class B emissions. Specifications are available for download; pricing is $220 for 1,000 piece quantities.

—Edited by Mark T. Hoske , Control Engineering editor in chief