VEOLIA Environmental Services says it has introduced Australia’s most technologically advanced tank cleaning system to the BP Refinery in Kwinana, Western Australia.
The Veolia Manway Cannon is being used to clean two tanks at the BP Refinery, while a third tank is currently in the planning stages.
According to Veolia Environmental Services, when a crude oil tank is pumped down and taken out of service for inspection and maintenance, it can still contain up to 2.5m of valuable, usable sludge, which needs to be harvested and processed.
Due to circumstances at the Kwinana Refinery, Veolia could not operate its site-based, built-for-purpose tank cleaning equipment properly. Prior to developing the Manway Canon, Veolia used a manned hydro-dozer, increasing exposure to risk of injury.
In June 2007, BP Refinery Kwinana representatives travelled to Rotterdam Refinery to look at Veolia Germany’s efforts using the Crude Oil Washing System and the Manway Cannon System.
On their return, Veolia set about designing the non-invasive tank cleaning system incorporating the Manway Cannons process.
The first trials started in late April 2009. In two weeks, an estimated 1500m³ of residual sludge was reduced by around 95%. This represented significant improvements in time taken, cost and employee risk.
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