Nuova Saimar designs, manufactures and sells the S.R.S.® (Sludge Recovery System):

• It is a mobile, automatic and no-man entry unit for tank cleaning.
• It operates 24/7, with no toxic emission and chemicals, completely safe and eco-friendly.
• With a modular design, it can be customized according to the Client’s needs.

Video transcription:

Except for the water contained, most of the sludge that accumulates in large crude oil tank is composed by material that can be reused.

Crude oil washing system or COW cleaning system for cleaning sludge from the interior of these large oil tanks offers great savings in safety, time and manpower.

The desolution and removal of accumulated sludge is one of the most perplexing and time-consuming of problems.

Besides the amount of downtime required to clean a crude oil tank, conventional cleaning methods also mean that very little oil was recovered from sludge, and this creates both wastage and environmental problems.

Crude oil washing system introduces a new era in this type of work, with a single system that solves all the problems of man hour, time, safetys and the effective utilization of resources connected with the dissolving and cleaning of crude oil sludge.

This is the COW system.

With the COW system the tank is filled with inert gas.

Harder sludge accumulated in the tank is then dissolved with washing oil from the jet washers.

As the sludge is dissolved, it goes to another tank via the sludge ejector system.

Powerful jets of hot water then remove any oil still remaining.

The operation takes only about 30 days to complete, and because no one needs to enter the tank during the process, it requires very little manpower, and provides a high degree of safety.

Practically all the oil contained in the accumulated sludge is collected, which contributes greatly to the effective reutilization of resources.

Now, let’s take a look at the steps involved in the crude oil washing system.

First, the necessary number of deck supports are removed from the tank to be cleaned and the jet washer is installed.

The sludge ejector system is then installed beside the tank to be cleaned.

The system is a centralized one in which oil transfer and recovery operations proceed automatically.

Next to the ejector system a wash oil supply pump is installed. Piping is laid to connect all the equipment in the system.

A liquid nitrogen tank truck and an evaporator will supply inner gas for the tank interior. This operation can also be performed with different types of inert gas generators.

Next, a system is installed to monitor the level of oxygen and hydrocarbons inside the tank. This monitoring system records the composition of the atmospheric gases in the interior and gives an alarm should something untoward takes place.

With the cleaning equipment in place, the actual cleaning operation begins, with the inert gas being introduced into in the tank.

The inert gas is used to make sure that static electricity inside the tank will not cause an explosion. To ensure a complete safety, the atmosphere gases inside the tank are held to less the 8% oxygen content.

With the inert gas in place, the jet washers go into action breaking down, dissolving and washing away sludge accumulation with high pressure washing oil.

The jet washer nozzles move automatically to ensure that the entire interior is clean. There are no dead spots.

The dissolved sludge is recovered by the sludge ejector system and sent back to the wash oil supply tank.

The ejector system uses vacuum pumps, whose negative pressure quickly sucks oil and sludge from the drain nozzles of the tank being cleaned, and sends it on his way to the wash oil tank.

Once the oil has been drained from the tank being cleaned, the tank is rinsed with hot water from the jet washers.

The ejector system sends the mixture of oil and water now obtained to a separator system for recovering all the oil

The sequence of operation from the oil wash to the hot water rinse form the most significant feature of the cow system.

The final cleaning takes place once the tank has been opened and vented. The entire process takes about 30 days, a dramatic saving in time.

Here are some of the reasons why the cow system, the world first oil storage tank cleaning system, is unique.

The entire operation take place without anyone having to enter the tank while cleaning is going on.

This means that the process is completely safe. The fact that the operations take place in an inert gas environment also means that there is no dangerous static electricity causing an explosion.

The lead of the cleaning process does not vary no matter how much sludge is accumulated in the tank; this provide great advantages in general costs and tank operation efficiency.

The system provides a dramatic increase in both the quantity and quality of oil recovered from sludge and wax.

As you can see there is practically no oil left in the sludge remaining inside the tank.

The cow system offers a degree of efficiency and economy in the utilization of natural resources impossible with conventional tank cleaning methods.

The cow system also responds to the concerns, more common in recent years, of personal safety and environmental protection.

The environment is protected from air pollution.

The emission of hydrocarbon gases is minimized during the cleaning process.

In this process the sludge is not disposed of and petroleum products are extracted from the water used in cleaning, leading to a reduction in industrial waste.

The cow system represents a new era in the oil tank cleaning, preserving personal safety, avoiding pollution, and providing highly efficient recycling of resources.