01/11/2018

Press release: Experts of the TATNEFT Company’s TatNIPIneft R&D Institute have developed an efficient technology for treating bottom sediments in crude oil storage tanks

The technology for treating bottom sediments in the tanks has been developed with the objective of reducing tank cleaning costs and obtaining additional hydrocarbons from the tank bottom sediments.

The accumulation of sediments is a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons, high-molecular components (paraffins, resins and asphaltenes), mechanical impurities and water taking place in the tanks (RVS) of oil treatment facilities. Bottom sediments are removed from tanks and disposed of on a periodical basis.

Until recently, the Company used third-party services to dispose of the oil sludge, which required expenses to pay for the services, and also led to the loss of a certain amount of liquid hydrocarbons contained in sediments.

The technology developed by the experts of the TATNEFT’s TatNIPIneft R&D Institute is a process for treating the bottom sediments directly in a tank using a diluent and a mixing device. This allows extracting the liquid hydrocarbon phase and receiving the additional revenue from the sale of oil.

Successful pilot tests execution of the developed technology at one of the tanks of the Tikhonovsky tank farm of NGDU "Almetyevneft" of PJSC TATNEFT resulted in putting into effect the PJSC TATNEFT’s Standard STO TH 236-2017 "Instructions for the application of the bottom sediment processing technology in tanks". An application has been filed for the invention of a method for treatment of bottom sediments in tanks.

Inter alia, the advantages of the developed technology include the reduction of residual oil sludge sent for recycling; reduction of costs for tank cleaning and disposal of the bottom sediments; extraction of oil from the bottom sediments. The technology has a resource-saving effect, as it allows extracting liquid hydrocarbons from the bottom sediments. The home-raised product will be used as the diluent. The technology implementation does not require significant capital expenditures.

The TATNEFT Company’s R&D Institute TatNIPIneft received the IInd degree diploma in the nomination "Energy-saving technologies and equipment" at the International specialized exhibition "Oil, Gas. Petrochemistry-2018” for this engineering development.

Version for print