New Breakthrough in Crude Oil Tank Farm Drainage Treatment Technology with Significantly Improved Environmental Benefits
1. What is crude oil tank farm cut water?
Crude oil tank farm cut water refers to the process of separating settled water from crude oil inside storage tanks during petroleum production, transportation, storage and processing. It aims to separate the water settled at the tank bottom from the crude oil so as to safeguard oil quality and safety.
2. What challenges does crude oil tank farm cut-water treatment face?
The main difficulties of crude oil tank farm cut-water treatment include the following:
Incomplete separation: Crude oil and water mix very tightly in the tank; if treatment is improper, residual moisture and impurities remain, directly affecting product quality.
High treatment cost: Conventional cut-water treatment technologies — sedimentation, hydrocyclone, membrane and so on — consume large amounts of energy and chemical agents to achieve separation.
Major safety hazards: If water separation in the tank is not timely or thorough, tank pressure and temperature become unstable, and tank explosion accidents may even occur.
Environmental pollution: Wastewater generated during treatment contains grease, heavy metals and other harmful substances; improper handling causes serious environmental harm.
Therefore, crude oil tank farm cut-water treatment calls for efficient, safe and environmentally friendly technologies and methods that take all factors into account, so as to achieve high quality, low cost, safety and environmental protection.
3. Conventional cut-water treatment technologies and their characteristics
Conventional crude oil tank farm cut-water treatment technologies include sedimentation, hydrocyclone and membrane types.
Sedimentation technology offers low cost, easy operation and high treatment efficiency, effectively removing most suspended particles and heavy metal ions. However, sedimentation tanks occupy considerable space, treatment performance is affected by flow rate and water quality, trace suspended solids and heavy metal ions still remain in the treated wastewater, and the settled sludge requires further treatment.
Hydrocyclone technology offers high treatment efficiency and relatively high removal of suspended solids and heavy metal ions, requires no chemical agents during treatment, and has low environmental impact. However, it is rather sensitive to environmental factors such as flow and temperature, and its treatment performance is easily affected.
Membrane technology offers excellent removal, pure treated water, low operating cost and a small footprint. However, its initial investment is high and the filter membranes are prone to fouling and wear, requiring frequent replacement.
In summary, each conventional cut-water treatment technology has its own pros and cons; an appropriate option should be selected for the actual scenario.
4. SINOKLE's new crude oil tank farm cut-water treatment process:
Process flow diagram
To tackle the cut-water treatment challenges and the shortcomings of conventional methods, SINOKLE has developed an entirely new process integrating multiple patented devices, including the coalescing oil-water separator, CDFU cyclonic dissolved-air flotation unit, filtration equipment and the KHC coalescing oil remover. Through purely physical means, without any chemical dosing, it achieves demulsification and efficient oil-water separation, effectively resolving the relevant challenges.
Process technical indicators
5. Core process advantages:
SINOKLE's crude oil tank farm cut-water process offers the following advantages:
Purely physical separation technology, stable and reliable, with oil removal efficiency as high as 95% or above.
No chemical addition — a purely physical demulsification and oil removal technology; the recovered oil can go directly back to the crude oil tank for reuse, with no secondary pollution and no oily sludge produced, solving environmental problems while creating economic value.
Short process flow, compact equipment structure, small footprint.
Skid-mounted equipment with high automation, simple operation and maintenance, short construction period, and online implementation possible.
Shock resistance and operational stability, capable of withstanding large fluctuations in water quality.
Application case site
