An automated tank cleaning machine is a machine used to clean cargo, process, underground storage tanks and similar equipment such as those found in tank trucks, railroad cars, barges, oil tankers, food and beverage manufacturing facilities, chemical processing plants, ethanol plants, and brewing facilities. [1] [2] Genericized trademarks such as Gamajet and Butterworth machine are often used to refer to automatic tank cleaning machines regardless of their manufacturer. [3]
Tanks must be cleaned from time to time for various reasons. One reason is to change the type of product carried inside a tank to prevent cross contamination. [4] [5] Another is to allow the tank to be inspected or for maintenance to be performed within a tank and to prevent product build-up on tank interior walls. [5] [6]
Automated tank cleaning machines work in a manner similar to an irrigation sprinkler but are highly-engineered to deliver increased force. Water forced through rotary jet nozzles rotates the device on a dual axis, creating a 360° cleaning pattern. As the water sprays, the liquid is pumped out of the tank. [5] Portable cleaning systems are commonly used for many outdoor applications [7] while fixed or permanent Clean-in-Place (CIP) systems are used in more sanitary environments. [8]
The Alfa Laval Gamajet 8 is widely used in the chemical industry, ethanol, transport, brewing, municipality, and oilfield/fuel storage applications. Weighing only 15 lbs., the device maintains 40 lbs. of cleaning force at 25 feet. Typical cleaning cycles are completed in 12 minutes. [4]
The Butterworth Type K machine is widely used. [1] This model can clean a tank of up to 10,000,000 US gallons (38,000 m3). [1] It uses water with a pressure up to 250 psi (1,700 kPa) and a temperature of up to 250 °F (121 °C). [1] The water jet reaches up to 115 feet (35 m). [1] Depending on the pressure used, a cleaning cycle can take from about 10 to 50 minutes and the machine uses between 15 US gallons (56.8 L; 12.5 imp gal) and 350 US gallons (1,324.9 L; 291.4 imp gal) per minute. [1]
On most crude-oil tankers, a special crude oil washing system, or COW system, is part of the cleaning process. [5] The COW system circulates hot crude oil through the fixed tank-cleaning system to remove wax and asphaltic deposits. [5]
Although machines are often used to wash tanks, a final stage of manual cleaning known as mucking, is usually performed. [3] Mucking requires protocols for entry into confined spaces and the use of airline respirators, protective clothing and safety observers. [3]
However, with Gamajet tank cleaning machines, confined space entry is greatly reduced eliminating danger to workers. [9] Manual tank cleaning is dangerous in a number of ways. [10] While tank barges can be cleaned in port, shipboard tanks are generally cleaned at sea. [3] This is largely due to risks of fire and explosion inside the tanks. [3]
The first automated tank cleaning machine was invented by Arthur Butterworth and patented in 1920. [11] His goal was to limit the amount of time that workers had to spend inside tanks, and partially relieve them of a dangerous and laborious job. [11] In 1925, Butterworth established a company to market the machine. [11] Standard Oil New Jersey bought the company in 1930, and it later became a subsidiary of the Exxon Corporation. [11]
In 1986, as part of an internal restructuring at Exxon, the Butterworth company was sold to Exxon management. [11] Today the company is privately held, and headquartered in Houston, Texas. [11]
In 2012, Gamajet Cleaning Systems, Inc. was purchased by Alfa Laval to combine two global tank cleaning product lines, Gamajet and Toftejorg. [12] The tank cleaning segment operates in Exton, Pennsylvania.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a major environmental disaster that made worldwide headlines in the spring of 1989 and occurred in Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. The spill occurred when Exxon Valdez, an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company, bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, 6 mi (9.7 km) west of Tatitlek, Alaska at 12:04 a.m. The tanker spilled approximately 10.8 million US gallons (260,000 bbl) of crude oil over the next few days.
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principally used as a specialized solvent, it is also a source of material for organic syntheses.
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum naphtha. Petrochemical feedstock like ethylene and propylene can also be produced directly by cracking crude oil without the need of using refined products of crude oil such as naphtha. The crude oil feedstock has typically been processed by an oil production plant. There is usually an oil depot at or near an oil refinery for the storage of incoming crude oil feedstock as well as bulk liquid products. In 2020, the total capacity of global refineries for crude oil was about 101.2 million barrels per day.
Ethyl formate is an ester formed when ethanol reacts with formic acid. Ethyl formate has the characteristic smell of rum and is also partially responsible for the flavor of raspberries. It occurs naturally in the body of ants and in the stingers of bees.
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
A tanker is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, cargo ships, and a gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, molasses and wine. In the United States Navy and Military Sealift Command, a tanker used to refuel other ships is called an oiler but many other navies use the terms tanker and replenishment tanker. Tankers were first developed in the late 19th century as iron and steel hulls and pumping systems were developed. As of 2005, there were just over 4,000 tankers and supertankers 10,000 LT DWT or greater operating worldwide.
Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, owned by Phillips 66. Located in Linden and Elizabeth, New Jersey, and bisected by Morses Creek, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United States. The oil refinery converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, propane and heating oil. As of 2007, the facility processed approximately 238,000 bbl/d (37,800 m3/d) of crude oil, producing 145,000 bbl/d (23,100 m3/d) of gasoline and 110,000 bbl/d (17,000 m3/d) of distillates. Its products are delivered to East Coast customers via pipeline transport, barges, railcars and tank trucks.
Lock out, tag out or lockout–tagout (LOTO) is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous equipment is properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work. It requires that hazardous energy sources be "isolated and rendered inoperative" before work is started on the equipment in question. The isolated power sources are then locked and a tag is placed on the lock identifying the worker and reason the LOTO is placed on it. The worker then holds the key for the lock, ensuring that only they can remove the lock and start the equipment. This prevents accidental startup of equipment while it is in a hazardous state or while a worker is in direct contact with it.
An oil terminal is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other storage facilities. An oil terminal typically has a variety of above or below ground tankage; facilities for inter-tank transfer; pumping facilities; loading gantries for filling road tankers or barges; ship loading/unloading equipment at marine terminals; and pipeline connections.
Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula . It is a colorless liquid that is only slightly soluble in water, but very soluble in most organic solvents. Isoamyl acetate has a strong odor which is described as similar to both banana and pear. Pure isoamyl acetate, or mixtures of isoamyl acetate, amyl acetate, and other flavors in ethanol may be referred to as banana oil or pear oil.
Storage tanks are containers that hold liquids, compressed gases or mediums used for the short- or long-term storage of heat or cold. The term can be used for reservoirs, and for manufactured containers. The usage of the word tank for reservoirs is uncommon in American English but is moderately common in British English. In other countries, the term tends to refer only to artificial containers.
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets.
A marine loading arm, also known as a mechanical loading arm, loading arm, or MLA is a mechanical arm consisting of articulated steel pipes that connect a tankship such as an oil tanker or chemical tanker to a cargo terminal. Genericized trademarks such as Chiksan are often used to refer to marine loading arms.
The history of the oil tanker is part of the evolution of the technology of oil transportation alongside the oil industry.
Oil tankers generally have from 8 to 12 tanks. Each tank is split into two or three independent compartments by fore-and-aft bulkheads. The tanks are numbered with tank one being the forwardmost. Individual compartments are referred to by the tank number and the athwartships position, such as "one port", "three starboard", or "six center."
The 2010 Port Arthur oil spill was the result of a collision between two vessels in the Sabine-Neches Waterway at Port Arthur, Texas on January 23, 2010. The two vessels were the oil tanker Eagle Otome and a barge being pushed by the towboat Dixie Vengeance.
Corexit is a product line of oil dispersants used during oil spill response operations. It is produced by Nalco Holding Company, an indirect subsidiary of Ecolab. Corexit was originally developed by the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. Corexit is typically applied by aerial spraying or spraying from ships directly onto an oil slick. On contact with the dispersant, oil that would otherwise float on the surface of the water is emulsified into tiny droplets and sinks or remains suspended in the water. In theory this allows the oil to be more rapidly degraded by bacteria (bioremediation) and prevents it from accumulating on beaches and in marshes.
The cargo control room, CCR, or cargo office of a tankship is where the person in charge (PIC) can monitor and control the loading and unloading of the ship's liquid cargo. Prevalent on automated vessels, the CCR may be in its own room, or located on the ship's bridge. Among other things, the equipment in the CCR may allow the person in charge to control cargo and stripping pumps, control and monitor valve positions, and monitor cargo tank liquid levels.
Occupational dust exposure can occur in various settings, including agriculture, construction, forestry, and mining. Dust hazards include those that arise from handling grain and cotton, as well as from mining coal. Wood dust, commonly referred to as "sawdust", is another occupational dust hazard that can pose a risk to workers' health.
An explosion at the ARCO Chemical (ACC) Channelview, Texas petrochemical plant killed 17 people and injured five others on July 5, 1990. It was one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the history of the Greater Houston area.