Cost-effective oil tank cleaning and sludge recycling using rototics

Technical Report · Fri Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:270408

Reimer, K; Sievert, P

New technology has opened the door to faster, safer and more environmentally-responsible cleaning of aboveground fuel storage tanks (AST`s). In the past, cleaning an AST was a costly, labor-intensive task in which sludge was {open_quotes}shoveled out{close_quotes} manually and outhauled for disposal. Now, tanks can be cleaned using advanced robotics, with a majority of the oil recovered and recycled for power generation. New tank cleaning technology is welcome relief for utilities. Aging tank farms, plant repowering projects and environmental considerations are increasing the need for tank cleaning services at a time when waste disposal options are becoming more limited. Many utilities are open to new methods that enable them to remove sludge from tanks, minimize waste and recover fuel. The benefits of modern tank cleaning were highlighted at the Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) Bergen station, where a patented process from LANSCO (Landry Service Co., Inc.) was used to clean a tank in No. 6 fuel oil service. The process, which incorporates robotics and advanced phase separation techniques, resulted in improved safety, reduced downtime and significantly reduced costs of cleaning and waste disposal. The remainder of this article reviews efforts at PSE&G to implement a state-of-the-art tank cleaning program and discusses key issues about tank cleaning, waste minimization and resource recovery.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Carnot, Tustin, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 270408
• Report Number(s): EPRI-TR--105591; CONF-9410452--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
BOILER FUELS
CLEANING
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FUEL OILS
RECYCLING
ROBOTS
SAFETY
SLUDGES
STORAGE
TANKS