GN Solids America: Equipment to Maximize Oil Recovery

There has been some discussion recently around oil losses leaving location with cuttings, even when surface conditions appear to be in check.

The same issue exists in tank cleaning and sludge handling, although it receives far less attention.

A tank may appear clean, and the pits may appear clean, while a meaningful percentage of recoverable oil is being diluted, mobilized, and ultimately hauled off for disposal. This is not a visibility issue but rather a recovery issue.

An automatic tank cleaning system performs its intended function by breaking up sludge, circulating it, and bringing it into a pumpable state so the tank can be returned to service. GN Solids automatic tank cleaning systems operate as a closed-loop process, using high-pressure washing and integrated solids separation to recover and reuse cleaning fluid while minimizing waste and manual handling.

That is only the first step in the process.

What follows determines whether value is recovered or lost.

When that material is routed into a proper treatment system, the results are measurable. GN Solids oil sludge treatment systems separate the stream into oil, water, and solids, allowing operators to recover usable oil, reuse water in the process, and reduce the remaining solids to a level where disposal is significantly less costly.

When that step is skipped, the same material is loaded into trucks and removed from location along with the recoverable oil.

Clean tanks are necessary, and clean pits are necessary. The material leaving the operation ultimately determines the efficiency of the process.

If you are evaluating tank cleaning or sludge handling, it is worth considering the full system. GN Solids automatic tank cleaning systems and oil sludge treatment systems are designed to work together as a complete process rather than as isolated pieces of equipment.