Sophisticated sonar technology is revolutionising the way crude oil storage tanks across Europe are monitored, maintained and cleaned by accurately calculating the volume and location of sludge deposits.
Willacy Oil’s Sludge Profiler of Oil Tanks (SPOT) uses sound and sonar techniques to create accurate volume information and 3D visualisation of the sludge deposits inside the tank.
Oily sludge deposits accumulate and settle on tank floors over time, potentially causing large banks that lead to serious problems for tank owners, including loss of storage space and mixer inefficiency.
Worse still, large sludge banks can cause expensive and problematic repairs if floating roofs land on top.
But accurately estimating the amount of sludge in a storage tank has long been a significant challenge, with manual dipping methods traditionally used.
This traditional dipstick process is neither sufficient to create a true picture of sludge in a tank nor to produce an accurate quote for cleaning. Therefore, it is common for the actual bill to be much higher than the initial estimate if the sludge build-up is worse than first thought.
Willacy’s SPOT system – which is trusted by an ever-increasing number of operators – removes all guesswork by accurately mapping and measuring deposits.
The high-tech SPOT system transmits low level sound and receives sonar returns from the sludge, accurate to within 5% when used with a sludge level of at least one metre.
Peter Smith, Technical Sales at Willacy Oil, said: “Our SPOT system removes the guesswork by quickly and accurately mapping sludge in a storage tank. The end result is a simple, easy-to-understand visual representation of where the build-ups are, as well as their depth and width.
“One of the major advantages of this technology is that it allows us to accurately quote for a tank cleaning job. As we know exactly what is in the tank, we are able to advise on the optimum cleaning strategy and offer a fair and transparent fixed price. This is extremely helpful for tank owners when it comes to budgeting as there are no nasty surprises.
“The system also helps with performance monitoring of online cleaning systems and allows engineers to set maintenance programmes.
“Storage and capacity are crucial in the industry, so knowing how much capacity remains in a tank is equally vital. The SPOT system can offer peace of mind by analysing contents.
“We can offer our unique service right across Europe and the rest of the world and we partner with a sister company to remove and treat the waste sludge, providing cost savings for the customer.”
Any suitable 4” entry point can be used to deploy the 1.7m SPOT probe, for example manways, vacuum breakers, dip hatches, emergency roof drains or roof support leg sleeves.
The optimum for a 61m (200ft) diameter tank would be three equally spaced positions approximately 20 metres from the tank shell. A larger 91.4m (300ft) diameter tank may require four entry positions.
The survey data is displayed live in plan view, profile view and a rotatable 3D view to show clearly where the sludge is located in the tank.
The SPOT system also allows owners to monitor tank mixers running patterns and effectiveness and can be useful for accounting purposes, often when a company changes ownership.
More measuring points are used with the SPOT system than a dipping method, increasing accuracy, and the process is less labour intensive as only two people are needed on the tank roof.
Survey results are also much faster – including an instant result indication – leading to reduced interruption and less lost income.
The work is carried out with a full tank, meaning no confined space work is required, reducing risk and oil-contaminated waste.
All SPOT equipment has been certified to the relevant Health & Safety and environmental standards and Willacy has a dedicated engineer who oversees all jobs.
Peter added: “Our qualified engineers understand the need to create as little disruption as possible while maintaining the very highest safety standards. The process usually takes one working day and the survey can be turned around very quickly, allowing tank operators to carry on their business.”
The SPOT system scans through 0-359 degrees in one-degree steps. The narrow beam in the horizontal field enables the system to discriminate and detect accurately any rapid changes in the sludge level.
Sludge volume is calculated by the software located back in the on-ground van, with the option of displaying results in cubic metres, cubic yards or barrels.
Contact Willacy today to discuss using the SPOT technology to achieve the most accurate and detailed system results possible using sonar technology.
