Micro-Bac International, Inc.
Oil Recovery and Sludge Reduction in 220,000-gallon Concrete Storage Tank
Project This 220,000 gallon concrete storage tank required maintenance cleaning. The material in the tank included a mixture of crude oil, water, along with organic and inorganic solids. The material came from ocean-going tankers that removed their ballast water prior to loading crude oil. The ballast water was treated to separate the oils for recovery, remove the solids, and treat the water prior to discharging.
Treatment Micro-Bac performed a tank bottom analysis on a sample of the material. It was recommended that M-1000H*® and the nutrients, OSNF #9 be used for treatment. Due to cool temperatures at the site, a boiler was used to heat the liquid in the tank to 80°F. Mixing and circulation of the tank was accomplished by using a large trash pump. Mixing was done for 21 days consecutively, 10 hours per day. During the treatment process, floating oil was removed from the tank.
Results On the 22nd day, the program ended, and all the oil and water were removed. The remaining solids were also removed from the tank. The solids were processed using a centrifuge to prepare for transportation and disposal. Using the microbial process in conjunction with centrifuging allowed the facility to recover a significant amount of oil from the sludge, and reduce disposal costs. As a result of the successful treatment, the owner has approved use of this process for future programs.
