Checks & Balances (Dragons 2)

Checks & Balances (Dragons 2)

Portfolio Categories: Degassing.

Challenge
An Envent account manager received a call from a long-time customer who had just started a tank cleaning project a day earlier. He said his project had been shut down early in the morning when the cleaning contractor witnessed flames leaping from the side manway of the tank – dragons. The customer said the tank had been several hours into the degassing phase of the project when the flames were observed. Through discussion the customer indicated Envent had bid on the degas portion of the tank project. The tank was a slop tank. The petroleum processing facility had decided to award the project to a cleaning contractor relatively new to the degassing business. Apparently by this contractor bundling their services, they had touted cost savings. It should be noted here, you get what you pay for. A meeting was scheduled to review Envent’s approach to the problem.

Solution
During the meeting the customer stated H2S was present in liquid in the 4,000 to 5,000 ppm range. Envent had asked about pyrophorics during the tank bidding and the customer had indicated the cleaning contractor would determine the answer to that question upon award and subsequent sampling and analysis. Apparently the cleaning/degassing contractor that was awarded the project had failed to follow through with any sludge analysis and therefore did not determine if pyrophorics were present. And since the cleaning contractor was also the degassing contractor, there were no checks and balances in place that would have prevented such an oversight. Envent would never allow a degas to begin until it is positively proven there are no pyrophorics present in the tank. After all, if the degassing company is bringing in outside air, it is the degassing company’s responsibility to allow or disallow the degas to commence if all information has not been provided or proven. Envent was invited to take over the degas of the project. Using Envent’s specialized nitrogen inert degas sequence, the tank was safely and successfully degassed while the sludge inside the tank was neutralized and safely removed.

Benefit
The benefit to the customer came in the form of Checks and Balances. When one company provides two completely different scopes of work, transparency to the customer can suffer. In this case, lack of experience was crystal clear! When Envent works with an experienced cleaning contractor, the scopes of work have boundaries and it takes a team effort on both company’s behalves to safely complete the project. When one company “bundles” their cleaning and degassing services to cut costs, doesn’t it make sense that quality would also suffer? It is rare that a Jack-of-all-Trades is also the Master of all Trades.

 

Power Station, Groundwater Removal for Conduit Boring

Portfolio Categories: All and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
A construction company in San Diego needed to bore a hole under railroad tracks for a utility company to run wire underground, 15 ft below grade. The site location was a marine terminal, so Envent was contracted to dewater the area for digging and to treat the subsequent contaminated water.

Solution
Envent acquired the permission to discharge this water from San Diego’s Industrial Wastewater Control Program and provided the dewatering pumps and the treatment system. Treatment consisted of settling, bag filters and granular activated carbon to remove diesel and gasoline range organics.

Benefit
The project resulted in the approximate savings of $24,000 and the successful discharge of 250,000 gallons of clean water.

Project: Ground Water Removal for Conduit Boring Cost Savings: $24,000 Location: San Diego, California Project: Water contaminated with diesel and gasoline range organics.

Victoria, Texas, Water Removal

Portfolio Categories: All and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
A 150,000 barrel storage tank had an external floating roof with leaking seals around the edges. Every time rain event occurred, the customer’s tank would accrue rainwater that leaked around the edges. This customer was losing product storage space which resulted in loss of revenue from the water. Roughly 650,000 gallons of rain water needed to be removed which settled at the bottom of the tank.

Solution
Envent mobilized activated carbon and oil separation equipment to remove hydrocarbons and the eventual oil rag layer. Utilizing strategic placement of frac tanks, the rag layer settled solids was contained to just one tank allowing for easy removal. The project finished under the allotted time and achieved a non-detect concentration of VOCs during the project. The tank was also subsequently degassed by Envent.

Benefit
Envent’s water treatment and vapor control solution allowed the customer to return the tank to service minimizing downtime. By removing and treating the water layer the customer was able to recover the remaining product to add additional savings compared to hauling off the contaminated product.

Project: Condensed Water Removal from Storage Tank Location: Victoria, Texas Product: Water contaminated with gasoline range organics.

Terminal Water Treatment – Bakersfield, California

Portfolio Categories: All and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
A tank at a terminal contained 3,000,000 gallons of hydrostatic test water to be disposed of. Envent utilized a pre-treatment system consisting of particulate filtration, clay absorption media, and granular activated carbon adsorption to remove the crude oil residual.

Solution
Envent engineers developed a cost effective solution on this project to handle the organic levels in the water. Process layout drawings and permitting support was also provided to keep the project moving on schedule. The treated water was sampled for laboratory analysis and was shown to be in compliance with the NPDES discharge limits. The water was then discharged through a sprinkler network to land.

Benefit
By treating and discharging the hydrostatic test water with an economical solution, Envent’s mobile water treatment technology saved the customer an estimated $250,000, when factoring the hauling and disposal cost of the remote site.

Project: Tank Water Treatment and Discharging Onsite Cost Savings: $250,000 Location: Bakersfield, California Product: Hydrostatic test water with crude oil residual

Louisiana Chem Plant, Wastewater Treatment and Oil/Sludge Removal

Portfolio Categories: All and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
A customer had 30,000 barrels of process/sump water in a terminal station tank that needed to be de-inventoried. The original plan was to haul the hazardous process water off-site to a waste treatment facility.

Solution
Instead, Envent proposed treating and discharging the water at a fraction of the cost. Envent acquired the discharge permit to ensure regulatory compliance. The process water was then successfully treated using a combination of air flotation, filtration pods, clay media and granular activated carbon.

Benefit
Approximately 1 million gallons of clean water was discharged to the POTW and an estimated $450,000 was saved when compared to transportation costs.

Cost Savings: $450,000 Location: Louisiana Refinery Product: Oil and sludge-laden water

Alaska, Gasoline Pipelines 22 miles Hydrotest Wastewater Treatment & Disposal

Portfolio Categories: All and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
A petroleum company hydrotested a 22 mile pipeline and required treatment of 685,000 gallons of hydrotest water.

Mobile Water Treatment | Envent Corporation
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Solution
By mobilizing water treatment equipment and specialized personnel to this remote location for two months, Envent was able to safely and economically treat the hydrotest water for sediment, scale, and residual oil. The hydrotest water was treated with granular activated carbon and filtration technologies and met the stringent turbidity and pH requirements for discharge to the Alaskan tundra.

Benefit
Envent’s ability to respond to distant projects saved the customer approximately $550, 000 when compared to remote transportation options and water treatment alternatives.

Project: Pipeline Hydrotest Cost Savings: $550,000 Location: Alaska Product: Hydrotest water with sediment and residual oil

Los Angeles, California, Major Oil Pipeline Emergency Water Treatment

Portfolio Categories: All, Case Studies, and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
A pipeline company required emergency treatment and discharge of contaminated water to the Los Angeles City Sanitation system during a construction project. The effluent pipeline water properties varied over time due to numerous drilling and grouting activities occurring upstream of the effluent.

Solution
Envent efficiently provided a mobile water treatment system and the proper POTW regulatory permitting for the project. The emergency was resolved by Envent rolling out equipment on short notice with persistent communications with local water board to keep the customer in compliance. By meeting the POTW specifications, a total of 200,000 gallons of effluent was treated discharged from the project. The polluted pipeline water was treated with water settling equipment and filtration technologies.

Benefits
Because of Envent’s quick response and high flexibility, the pipeline company could finish their construction without further delays to the schedule. A great saving was achieved when compared to the hauling and off-site treatment costs the customer and further delays to the pipeline construction project.

Pipeline Relocation and Emergency Water Treatment

Alaska – 3 Million Gallons Hydrotest & Water Treatment

Portfolio Categories: All, Case Studies, and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge
Treat and discharge 3,000,000 gallons of water from a pipeline hydrotest on the North Slope of Alaska. The pipeline location is at the end of the ice roads where transporting hydro test water from the job site to a new location for disposal would be extremely costly and dangerous. The company wanted to discharge clean hydrotest water to the barren Tundra without polluting the environment.

Solution
Timing conditions for Envent Corporation to send mobile treatment equipment 3,800 miles, up the thawed ice roads, to successfully remove TSS, Turbidity, O&G, NTU, and other toxic contaminants to well below the effluent limitations prior to discharge.

Benefit
Protecting the tundra, America’s last frontier, from pollution while substantially minimizing the customers cost during a mandatory pipeline integrity check.

Protected America's last frontier while minimizing costs.

Illinois Refinery, Gasoline Tank Degas

Portfolio Categories: All and Degassing.

Challenge
An Illinois refinery required a 169,000-barrel overflow tank to be degassed. The overflow tank followed two active process tanks in series and served as an active receptacle for overflow product during process upsets. Additionally, the Hydrogen Sulfide concentration levels in the tank were especially high because the tank held raw gasoline. Envent was referred internally to manage this complex degassing scenario based on previous projects that had been successfully executed for the same customer on the east coast.

Solution
Envent engineers determined best outcomes would result by using a combined Oxidizer/Scrubber system on the tank to abate the vapors being produced on this complex tank arrangement. The Hydrogen Sulfide concentration fluctuated based on the process upsets that the refinery company encountered, but Envent’s operators and equipment were able to successfully control the off-gas in each instance to complete the especially challenging job.

Benefit
The client is estimated to have saved $250,000 by contracting Envent.

Estimated to have saved $250,000 by contracting Envent.

Houston, Refinery Turnaround Support Services

Portfolio Categories: All and Turnaround Services.

Challenge
During a refinery turnaround project, a refinery required the use of temporary tanks to store wastewater from a cleaning operation. Multiple units in different locations in the refinery were being cleaned at the same time and the wastewater would not meet discharge specifications.

Solution
Envent mobilized and operated a network of temporary tanks, carbon systems, berms, pumps and heat exchangers to safely contain the chemicals used to clean the refinery units.  The 200,000 gallons of wastewater runoff contained a hazardous assortment of spent caustic, industrial cleaners, degreasers, oxidizers, and surfactants; it was critical that Envent’s team executed perfectly.

Benefit
The arrangement was engineered to provide a simple and economic solution for the client’s turnaround, and resulted in a savings of approximately $150,000.  Envent’s engineering department utilized a systematic approach to deal with the intricacies of this project and produced an environmentally friendly solution.

Project: Turnaround Support Services Cost Savings: $150,000 Location: Gulf Coast Refinery

New Jersey, Refinery Water Treatment

Portfolio Categories: All and Mobile Water Treatment.

Challenge

A refinery requested to do on-site wastewater treatment for a 2,000,000 gallon tank. The tank contained hydrostatic test water with high level oil, grease and dissolved sulfides. Concentrations were generalized with old water analysis. Envent had to engineer a water treatment solution and adjust accordingly to findings during the field treatment.

Solution

Envent quickly responded with a high performance air floatation unit, EAFU-01, to efficiently remove the contaminations. The EAFU-01 was capable of producing pollutant-free water at a rate of 75 gallons per minute and utilized a chemical coagulant to treat the oil and grease. Additionally, sodium hypochlorite was used to treat for the dissolved sulfides with additional polishing filtration. The treated water was sampled and analyzed by the refinery and was determined to meet the discharge requirement.

Benefits

After confirming that the processed water was within the required specification, the water was discharged to the designated area. A total savings of $170,000 was estimated when compared to the transportation and off-site treatment costs.

Savings of $170,000 was estimated when compared to the transportation and off-site treatment costs.

Port Arthur, TX, Chemical Plant Benzene Tank Degassing

Portfolio Categories: All, Case Studies, and Degassing.

Challenge
A chemical plant in Texas required a 24,000 barrel tank to be degassed during, and following a tank cleaning. The degassing was performed under a nitrogen blanket, with an outside tank cleaning company water washing the tank. The customer’s main concern was to keep the pressure in the tank constant, while maintaining a steady flow of nitrogen into the tank. Tank pressure had been a previous issue for the customer in the past with a different degassing company. The customer wished to keep the pressure within 2” WC of the current pressure.

Solution
Due to the high levels and fluctuations of benzene, the Envent engineers decided to use a thermal oxidizer routed directly to the flame arrestor on the tank. Constant communication was kept between the control room, and Envent personnel throughout the degas to keep the pressure equalized. Envent provided benzene readings to the control room every two hours, per the customer’s request. The benzene concentration was relatively high during the agitation of the tank, about 700 ppm, but dropped significantly after the tank cleaning company had finished. Envent provided a reading of 0 ppm to the control room, which was confirmed by the customer’s lab.

Benefit
To the delight of the customer, Envent was successfully able to degas the benzene tank with a nitrogen blanket during the three days of tank cleaning. With a 24 hour manned watch, the thermal oxidizer outperformed previous competitors, and gave a final benzene reading of zero ppm. Through constant communication with the customer, Envent was able to safely meet the strict requirements set forth by the customer. Envent was also able to save the customer money by significantly reducing costs by shortening the duration of the project.

Degassing Tanks under a Nitrogen Blanket Not a Problem for EMTOS

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