The energy efficiency of a high-voltage electrical drive for oil- and gas-industry compressor stations

The structure and volume of fuel- and energy-resource consumption in the gas industry show that the most energy is used in the process of long-distance gas transportation from gas-producing regions to the central industrial regions of Russia. Thus, the problem of reduction costs in the industry is primarily topical for long-distance pipelines—in particular for compressor stations, these being the main consumers of fuel and energy. Methods aiming at improving the energy efficiency of the compressor plants with centrifugal blowers using variable-frequency high-voltage electrical drives are considered in this article. Comparison and selection of the optimal structure for the power-circuit diagrams of the frequency converters are given. With the help of computer modeling, it is shown that a cascade multilevel frequency converter possesses better characteristics than do its analogues. The effect of the frequency converters on supply mains is considered. Comparison of different algorithms for control of cascade multilevel frequency converters is carried out on the basis of the computer model of the system. It is shown that the algorithm of the space modulation of the basic vectors is more applicable for providing the best energy characteristics of such a converter. A list of technical solutions aiming at improvement of the energy efficiency of a compressor station is constructed. The energyefficiency values of the applied technical solutions are calculated.