Advantages and disadvantages of electric motors and steam turbines

Our company uses electric motors, which consume a lot of electricity. Installing variable frequency drives doesn’t help save that much energy either. I heard that steam turbines are a good option; could you give me some advice?

When driven by an electric motor, the process is somewhat simpler; stopping and carrying out maintenance are easier, and it’s also relatively safer. For example, it only takes 12 seconds to start a centrifugal compressor using an electric motor. However, this approach is energy-intensive – the electric motors of large equipment like centrifugal compressors have powers of several thousand kilowatts, resulting in electricity costs of tens of thousands of yuan per day per unit. Turbines, on the other hand, are cheaper. Moreover, coal chemical plants usually have boiler rooms, so using steam is relatively cost-effective. The downside is that the startup speed is slow; it takes a long time to warm up the pipes, and it also takes a considerable amount of time for the turbine to reach its normal operating speed. The process is complicated, and there are many related issues. In addition, restarting the turbine after a short period of shutdown also takes a lot of time, and it doesn’t require high skill levels from the operators

The cost of converting electric motors into hydroturbines is also astonishingly high

In fact, another major advantage of turbines over motors is that during periods of **power shortage, motors often have to be shut down due to power restrictions. Moreover, each start-up of large motors places a significant strain on the power grid; in areas with underdeveloped power grids, coordination with the power supply authorities is required before such start-ups can take place. Turbines do not face this problem at all. This is why many new projects these days opt for turbines instead of large motors – although they are more expensive and their equipment is more complex, the lack of such restrictions is their greatest advantage

Do other sailors have any good ways to save electricity?

There are many ways to save electricity (or rather, to save energy or money), but a scientific and reasonable plan can only be developed by conducting a specific analysis based on each factory’s actual conditions. The answer to your first question is that for large power equipment (over 1500 KW), steam turbines should be used; for small power equipment (under 800 KW), motors are appropriate. For medium-sized equipment, it depends on various constraints and advantages.