Oil & Gas
Building & Facility Management
Manufacturing
BrightShield Enables Safe, Effective Tank Cleaning at Critical Oil and Gas Facility
At a glance
A hydrocarbon processing facility needed to clean a storage tank containing sludge, hydrocarbons, and hazardous gases. Using the BrightShield process, Guardian designed a custom chemical cleaning program that eliminated sludge, reduced toxic vapours, and enabled safe, compliant disposal.
Key metrics
SAFELY
ELIMINATED & CONTROLLED H2S, LEL, BENZENE, FES, AND MERCAPTANS
COMPLIANT
AND SAFE DISPOSAL OF ALL SLUDGE AND FLUIDS
77% DROP
IN MERCAPTAN LEVELS
Why hydrocarbon tank cleaning is a safety job first
Storage tanks at oil and gas processing facilities collect sludge over time. When the tank is opened for cleaning, the sludge and fluids can release HโS, mercaptans, benzene and flammable vapours. Iron sulphide in the deposits can also react when exposed to air.
That makes tank cleaning a safety job before it is a cleaning job. The chemistry has to break down the sludge, control the gases, and leave fluids that can be moved and disposed of properly.
This critical Alberta processing facility needed to clean a hydrocarbon storage tank during shutdown. The tank held an estimated 1,000 mยณ of fluid and 700 mยณ of sludge of unknown composition.
Challenges
A critical oil and gas processing facility in Alberta needed to clean one of their hydrocarbon storage tanks during shutdown. The tank contained large volumes of sludge with an unknown composition, hydrocarbons, H2S, iron sulphides, mercaptans, LEL vapours and benzene. Estimated total of 1,000 m3 of fluid and 700 m3 of sludge required treatment.
Solutions
Through the BrightShieldโข Process, Guardian developed a chemical cleaning program using:
-
Detrax: to break down sludge, disperse solids, and suppress vapours.
-
Ferrosol: to control iron sulphides (FeS).
-
Sourguard: as needed to neutralize HโS.
On-site monitoring ensured safe vapour levels. All fluids were flushed and removed for compliant disposal.
Results
Safely Cleaned Vessel
-
Removed and dispersed over 700 m3 of tank sludge
-
Eliminated HโS and reduced mercaptans by 77%
-
Maintained safe work environment with continuous monitoring of LEL, benzene, and other vapours
Successful Disposal
Treated fluids and solids remained suspended during transfer, enabling safe, efficient, and regionally compliant disposal.
Data
(1) Untreated sludge deposit.
(2) 3 grams of sludge deposit treated with 10% Detrax (waterbased degreaser for tank cleaning). Note how deposit is fully dispersed in the fluid.
(3) Treated high solids water left to settle for 24 hours. Note how the solids remain suspended in the tube treated with Detrax while the Blank has stratified and solids settled to the bottom as shown by the red line. The ability to keep solids suspended prevented solids from settling during waste transport, ensuring easy offloading of waste.
The SOURGUARD Series are concentrated H2S scavengers designed to selectively scavenge H2S fast, effectively, and irreversibly. They convert poisonous and foul-smelling H2S gas to a liquid product. The SOURGUARD Series are unaffected by CO2 (carbon dioxide) and have been proven to reduce mercaptan levels by over 90%.
Theย FERROSOL Seriesย forms a stable, water soluble complex with iron sulphide and does not release foul smelling and poisonous hydrogen sulphide gas from the chelated complex. Once dissolved, the iron sulphide will not be re-release and will not cause water injection problems.
DETRAXย is a highly concentrated water based degreaser designed for removing our TRAXOL gear cleaning solvents.ย ย DETRAXย is specially formulated using a unique blend of deposit penetrating surfactants, wetting agents, water conditioners and softening agents. DETRAXย is highly versatile, capable of cleaning a wide variety of deposits commonly found on heavy equipment, including greases, oils and open gear lubricants.
Frequently asked questions
What products were used?
Detrax to break down sludge, disperse solids and suppress vapours; Ferrosol to control iron sulphides; and Sourguard as needed to neutralize HโS.
How much sludge was removed?
More than 700 mยณ was removed and dispersed.
How were toxic gases controlled?
HโS was eliminated and mercaptans were reduced 77%. LEL, benzene and other vapours were monitored continuously on site.
Why did solids suspension matter for disposal?
Solids stayed suspended during transfer instead of settling, which made the waste easier to offload and dispose of.