Storage Tank Cleaning

TRADITIONAL TANK CLEANING METHOD

Since day one of the “Saimar” brand, we have performed the cleaning of oil storage tanks with traditional methods. Nowadays this happens only when innovative and no-man entry technology cannot be used due to external conditions or tank features. In these cases, our personnel is trained to work in high-risk conditions and to deal with toxic, flammable, and explosive substances.

In our experience, we have been worked in the main refineries and tank farms both in Italy and abroad, cleaned both buried and external tanks of small, medium, and big sizes (even more than 100.000 m3 of capacity), with floating or cone roof type.

Our intervention methodology can be schematized according to a general operating procedure:

  • operational safety procedures on the tank to be reclaimed, by means of pneumatic or electric forced ventilation systems, with anti-deflagration protection;
  • removal of the fluid product with vacuum-truck, or by means of pneumatic or volumetric pumps with hydraulic or electric drive, with anti-deflagration protection;
  • manual removal of shovelable debris, through access by personnel equipped with adequate protection devices, and specific equipment such as hydraulically operated volumetric pumps, and manual tools in non-sparking materials;
  • final washing of the tank with high-pressure water jets, together with solvent products with high environmental compatibility, and collection of the washing water;
  • release of final Gas-free certification performed through the intervention of highly qualified technicians external to our organization.

Ancillary activities of this service are the on-site treatment of wastewater and sludge extracted in order to maximize the recovery of the product to be returned to the customer and minimize the quantities of waste to be sent to external plants. For example, we can perform water treatment by passing through oil separators, heat treatment of the foundations with the passage in sedimentation tanks, and recovery of the lighter reusable phase, centrifugation, filtration, fluidization, etc.

Staff safety is guaranteed through the use of state-of-the-art PPE, tested and certified intervention methods, and adequate environmental monitoring with instruments that are always up to date with periodic calibrations.

NO-MAN ENTRY TECHNOLOGY

NUOVA SAIMAR has proven to be, once again, the market leader in tank cleaning, by offering its Clients the S.R.S.® (Sludge Recovery System) based on the Crude Oil Washing technology.

NUOVA SAIMAR has improved the Crude Oil Washing (COW) technique, extremely effective for cleaning the inside of large oil tanks from muddy sludge using a system of floating heads turbines, adapting it to European regulations and expanding its application also to small tanks and/or tanks located in hard-to-reach positions.

Now we can offer to our Client the S.R.S.® (Sludge Recovery System) technology, a no-man entry, automatic, customizable unit for tank cleaning.

Conventional methods for remediation of oil tanks require a considerable amount of time and workforce. They also bring to a low percentage of product recovery, creating an increase in waste and consequent environmental problems.

Advantages of the S.R.S.® method:

Absolute safety for both the operating staff and the surrounding environment
Almost total recovery (up to 98%) of the hydrocarbon contained in the tank sludge
Significant reduction in tank cleaning times

Thanks to the experience of its worksite managers and following careful internal assessments, Nuova Saimar has integrated and expanded the system to make it applicable also to:

  • Fixed roof tanks
  • Small size tanks
  • Tanks containing petroleum products other than crude oil

and we have also obtained:

  • Minimum waste production
  • Maximum product recovery

The combination of the S.R.S.® with the radio-controlled ATEX JOX-I Robot, designed to operate in hazardous or inaccessible environments, guarantees our customers the best technology on the market in terms of reliability, safety, health, and environmental sustainability.

What type of tanks does Nuova Saimar clean?

Nuova Saimar offers cleaning services up to Gas-Free Certifications for tanks of any capacity, with fixed and floating roofs, containing crude oil, hydrocarbons, bitumen, slop, palm oil, …

We also perform assistance to ventilation and filling.