Fresenius Kabi Austria's Linz plant manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), such as lactulose, hydroxyethyl starch and sinistrin. The production of lactulose API involves a 24 hours a day, seven days a week operation with an order-related and just-in-time production system. A significant part of the production process involves the product being held in large vats that are continuously stirred by agitators, driven by electric motors. It was this process, among others, that was under scrutiny in terms of energy and process efficiency, so Fresenius Kabi approached Bauer with a request for support in investigating a more efficient drive system, and one that was also flexible enough to cope with process changes. The initial step was to carry out an assessment of the existing equipment which comprised an IE2 (2-pole) direct-on-line (DOL) started asynchronous geared motor (ASM) rated at 18.5kW with a stated efficiency of 91.2 percent. This was connected to the agitator paddles that turned at about 105rpm with an approximate load of 1,632Nm.
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