Technology Database  Prospecting, production activity and waste handling of minerals Refining METHOD OF CLEANING RESERVOIRS FROM OIL SEDIMENT
METHOD OF
CLEANING RESERVOIRS FROM OIL SEDIMENT
A method of cleaning oil
reservoirs and tanks from bottom sediments with return of the oil into
technological cycle has been developed.
 When
the reservoir is used for a long time, the mixture of oil fractions falls down
on the bottom. It may reach an impressive size whereas the degree of its
thickening depends on the oil origin and the storage duration. The sediment is
periodically removed by cleaning the reservoir. Usually, the cleaning process is
in fact a complex of technological operations with the inevitable use of manual
labor. The reservoir cleaning is a hard long work what is absolutely alien to
the concept of modern technological processes. Now, what to do with the
extracted product? There is only one way out: to bury it in special tumulus
where to must be transported while the very existence of them causes an
ecological problem. Besides, there are many useful components in the sediment
which are lost irretrievably.
In order to eliminate these
unfavorable factors, it is proposed to use strong acoustic irradiations
generated by a special apparatus to impact on the bottom sediment. The impact of
acoustic waves leads to dispersing the sediment, dissoluting it in the oil which
is there in the reservoir. The oil can be pumped out for further processing when
this process is over.
The innovation of the proposed
method consists in the fact that the physical (acoustic) field impact on the
extracted sediment is substituted for a direct mechanical impact while the
content of the sediment is returned into the technological cycle for its further
use, thus making sediment burial unnecessary. Such methods are not known yet.
To be executed, this method
provides for the use of emitting equipment which includes an acoustic destroyer
(emitter) and an exciting generator (transformer) which is fed from the
industrial mains.
The destroyer shall be dipped
into a reservoir filled with oil following with a certain delay the dissolving
sediment. The main device shall be placed close to the reservoir. It can be
installed on a movable chassis. The technological mode of operation must be
adapted to the existing conditions - oil sort, type and volume of reservoir, etc.
The adaptation includes, in particular, the selection of destroyer configuration,
frequency of sound waves irradiating the sediment, their power, timing of
operation, etc.
The thinner is the sediment, the
more effective is the process of dispersing and subsequent pumping-out or
re-pumping. It is advisable to regularly apply by an acoustic impact, though,
naturally, a weaker one - on the stored oil thus preventing the formation of the
sediment itself.
One of the optional
configurations of a destroyer in a protective casing, and one of the optional
generators conjugated with the given destroyer, are shown on the photograph.
The economic effect of the
proposed method depends on the oil sort, total number of reservoirs, their
volumes, and on other factors which can be specifically evaluated only in
cooperation with the users.
Prototype models of equipment,
which are shown on the photograph, as well as models of other acoustic emitters
and their exiting generators have been manufactured and tested. The assembly of
the plant with a 1 mз volume reservoir has been completed. The
required experiments are planned to be carried out.
Author: Kolyaeva Alla Nikolayevna
Publishing date: July 18, 2000
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