Industrial cleaning services in the petrochemical, refining and power space have changed drastically over the past several years due to new technology and the push for a safer workplace. The majority of the client/operators of both refining and petrochemical facilities are now demanding automated equipment be used in place of hand-operated hydroblasting and vacuum tools. Nearly gone are the days of injuries due to water abrasion cuts, eye injuries, slips and falls, etc. resulting from manual hydroblasting. The same has been seen in vacuum services with the introduction of safety systems and robotics. These two service lines are now showing reduced injuries to employees.
Other added benefits that have been found through the use of automated tooling and robotic controlled systems are productivity, repeatability, smaller crew sizes and better cleaning. The cleaning industry now has reduced its rework by over 50 percent, and in most cases, the cleaning criteria of the equipment being cleaned is greater than in the history of the services, thus providing customers with greater heat exchange rates, longer run times and reduced time to return equipment to service. These results have been and are being documented by both customers and suppliers alike.
One of the cleaning service lines that has been a challenge to automate in the past has been tank cleaning. This is due to the sheer size and configurations of tanks, as well as the extended time (typically 10-20 years) between cleanings of tanks.
Here at HydroChem, we have championed the philosophy that we will automate all cleaning service lines. This was seen in our September 2014 BIC article (p. 65) where we duplicated a “shotgun” in a frame hanging in a museum. This picture was meant to show not that we were going to automate just the hydroblasting service line but that we would take the same challenge to each and every one of our service lines.
Over the past two years, this challenge has been met in our tank cleaning service line with the introduction of several automated tools and robots. The HydroChem of today has introduced tools to the market that were both bought from venders (many altered through HydroChem’s R&D center to meet cleaning and design requirements) and tools designed through HydroChem’s R&D center. We are today operating many tools that were not available to the tank cleaning industry just two years ago. Some of these tools are the tank sweep nozzles, roof leg wash nozzles, core insertion nozzles, gas-tight (GT) cannons, the rover and the latest to come out of HydroChem’s R&D center: our wash cannon rover with a 9-foot boom and GT “style” cannon.
These tools and robots are being used to reduce manned confined entry of HydroChem’s personnel to remove sediment in our customers’ tanks, as well as the reduction of tank cleaning schedules as a whole. Through planning and preparation with our customers, we have reduced many manned confined entry requirements to 25 percent of past requirements.
HydroChem has also worked with many of our customers on “unique” tank cleaning issues — such as collapsed tank roofs, imploded tanks and solidified asphalt — to meet these challenges without entry into the tank. These projects have required extensive engineering and planning, as well as the development of tooling not available on the open vendor market. But through our continued dedication to technology and our R&D center, we have been able to provide workable solutions to our customers’ challenges.
Though we still have the need at this time to enter tanks for some removal of sludge buildup and final washing, HydroChem is steadfast in its commitment that through continued improvement of our automated tank cleaning technology, we will one day eliminate the need for manned entry into tanks completely.
For more information, visit www. Hydrochem.com or call (800) 932-5326.
