REO filter ensures EMC compliance

Bowman Power claims that up to a 10 per cent fuel consumption improvement can be achieved with its advanced exhaust energy-recovery system when used with diesel electricity generators.

There are already incentives from governments to generate electricity to be fed into the national power grids using renewable bio-fuels.

The company says this increase in efficiency offers further financial benefits for these installations.

Similar benefits also apply to remote generating stations by reducing fuel requirements.

The new system is based upon a technology already proven on diesel powered vehicles such as tractors, trucks and off-road plant.

On vehicles, the system employs the same exhaust gases that drive turbochargers to power a turbogenerator (high-speed alternator).

The AC electricity generated by the turbogenerator is rectified and regulated then may employed to drive an electric motor mounted on the diesel engine's drive shaft to provide extra torque or alternatively to power other electrical equipment on the vehicle.

On a 250kW engine the resulting power boost can be 50kW.

This enhances fuel efficiency while at the same time reducing exhaust emissions.

The system for electricity generators is designed to convert the AC supply generated by the turbogenerator into three-phase power that can be fed into a national/regional grid.

The AC produced by the turbogenerator is first rectified and regulated and then, via the grid interface power electronics module, converted to 400V 50Hz grid quality three-phase power.

It is intended for use with diesel systems designed to generate electricity to be fed into power supply grids.

Typically, this might be a farmer growing biofuels specifically for this purpose or have animal waste that can be used to produce fuel.

Increasingly, governments are giving financial incentives to run such systems to help reduce both CO2 levels and fuel consumption.

The Bowman Power system is undergoing trials in Australia in a remote mining community power generation station.

Benefits expected include increased efficiency of the diesel generators and consequent reduced fuel consumption, which combine to reduce running costs.

Such systems incorporating power electronics must be CE marked as confirmation of EMC emissions compliance.

In order to achieve this compliance and to improve robustness and reliability, Bowman Power has incorporated a high-performance EMC filter from REO UK.

'The REO filter enabled us to meet the required EMC compliance standards,' said John Lyons, electrical manager of Bowman Power.

'REO provided us with all the technical support required to ensure the correct filter selection and supplied the unit at a competitive price,' he added.