The procedures in crude oil storage tank cleaning, also known as Crude Oil Washing (COW), is a process of cleaning the storage using the fuel itself. Before environmental regulations were enacted, these tankers were cleaned by spraying seawater into the containers. Initially, water was also stored in these same tanks to level the ships and ensure that the propellers will be below sea level, until ballast tanks were introduced.
Overtime, multiple regulations were introduced to ensure proper disposal of waste from the process of cleansing the tanker after trips. Private institutions also found ways to take advantage of these changes by using readily available fluids and by lessening waste of their products, which equates to additional savings for the company. We will be covering the changes and improvements for the past decades that led to the regulations being followed today.
Petroleum is delivered by tanker vessels every day from oil platforms to refineries to be processed. With this line of business, cost efficiency is very important to ensure the profitability of each trip. One of the easiest ways to decrease cost is to have regular cleansing of these containers. Once a container is left without this procedure, the oil will form a sticky layer on the walls and will add unnecessary weight to the ship when it is returning to the platform for another delivery.
Early methods used in the removal of the layers of oil on the container walls involved the heating and spraying of seawater inside these tanks, and were then released overboard. This, unfortunately, also released the petroleum that was mixed in the process and were simply discharged without ensuring its safety.
In 1954, the Oil Pollution Convention (OILPOL) was adopted as a measure to lessen pollution through the prohibition of the release of waste within 50 miles from the nearest land. On some instances, this limit was extended to 100 miles on environmentally protected sites, where the spillage may have very grave impacts.
The OILPOL measure did not really eliminate the waste produced and only moved to different areas, which was the main reason why a new process called Load on Top was introduced where pressurized heated water was still used, but instead of simply discharging the mix back at sea, they store it in specialized slop tanks. While the vessel is on its way back to the platform, the lighter oil would float on top of this mixture, while the heavier water would settle at the bottom and then be returned to the sea.
An estimated amount of 8 million tons of petroleum were prevented from being discharged back into the sea. The remaining fuel from this process can then be reused by mixing with a fresh batch of crude oil, which resulted in higher profit margins by cutting losses.
The crude oil storage tank cleaning process was once again improved by using pressurized crude oil and was sprayed onto the sediments sticking on the tank walls. This process, that eliminated the need for slop tanks, was named Crude Oil Washing. This resulted in a cleaning procedure that eliminated the possibility for waste water and only involved the fuels that were also being delivered.
Overtime, multiple regulations were introduced to ensure proper disposal of waste from the process of cleansing the tanker after trips. Private institutions also found ways to take advantage of these changes by using readily available fluids and by lessening waste of their products, which equates to additional savings for the company. We will be covering the changes and improvements for the past decades that led to the regulations being followed today.
Petroleum is delivered by tanker vessels every day from oil platforms to refineries to be processed. With this line of business, cost efficiency is very important to ensure the profitability of each trip. One of the easiest ways to decrease cost is to have regular cleansing of these containers. Once a container is left without this procedure, the oil will form a sticky layer on the walls and will add unnecessary weight to the ship when it is returning to the platform for another delivery.
Early methods used in the removal of the layers of oil on the container walls involved the heating and spraying of seawater inside these tanks, and were then released overboard. This, unfortunately, also released the petroleum that was mixed in the process and were simply discharged without ensuring its safety.
In 1954, the Oil Pollution Convention (OILPOL) was adopted as a measure to lessen pollution through the prohibition of the release of waste within 50 miles from the nearest land. On some instances, this limit was extended to 100 miles on environmentally protected sites, where the spillage may have very grave impacts.
The OILPOL measure did not really eliminate the waste produced and only moved to different areas, which was the main reason why a new process called Load on Top was introduced where pressurized heated water was still used, but instead of simply discharging the mix back at sea, they store it in specialized slop tanks. While the vessel is on its way back to the platform, the lighter oil would float on top of this mixture, while the heavier water would settle at the bottom and then be returned to the sea.
An estimated amount of 8 million tons of petroleum were prevented from being discharged back into the sea. The remaining fuel from this process can then be reused by mixing with a fresh batch of crude oil, which resulted in higher profit margins by cutting losses.
The crude oil storage tank cleaning process was once again improved by using pressurized crude oil and was sprayed onto the sediments sticking on the tank walls. This process, that eliminated the need for slop tanks, was named Crude Oil Washing. This resulted in a cleaning procedure that eliminated the possibility for waste water and only involved the fuels that were also being delivered.
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