Cargo Tank Impurity Removal via Chemical Dissolution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for removing impurities from nautical vessel cargo tanks, such as heavy metals and NORM, are unsafe, time-consuming, and cost-prohibitive, requiring manual intervention or high-pressure water jetting.
Innovation Solution
A process utilizing an active chemical solution, either acidic or caustic, to mobilize and remove impurities from the tank surfaces, including the use of repurposed crude oil wash systems with corrosion-resistant components and adjustable spray apparatus to facilitate efficient impurity dissolution and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual cleaning or high-pressure water jetting is used to remove impurities, then impurity removal effectiveness is improved, but safety risks and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical cleaning methods (manual scraping, high-pressure water jetting) with a chemical cleaning system that uses acidic or caustic solutions to dissolve impurities. The system employs chemical reactions to mobilize and remove embedded impurities from cargo tank surfaces, eliminating the need for personnel to enter confined spaces and perform dangerous manual cleaning operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces chemical solutions (acidic or caustic) as intermediaries to facilitate impurity removal. These chemical agents act as mediators between the cleaning system and the impurities, enabling effective removal without direct mechanical contact. The chemical solutions mobilize embedded impurities and allow their subsequent removal through flushing, thereby improving safety while maintaining effectiveness.
2Manufacturing precision
If manual cleaning methods are used, then impurity removal can be achieved, but time consumption and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The chemical cleaning system replaces time-consuming manual cleaning operations with automated chemical processes. The acidic or caustic solutions rapidly dissolve impurities through chemical reactions, significantly reducing the time required for demucking operations compared to manual scraping or mechanical cleaning methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The chemical solutions perform the cleaning function autonomously through chemical reactions with the impurities. The acidic or caustic agents self-mobilize embedded impurities and facilitate their removal without requiring continuous manual intervention, thereby reducing operational time and labor requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional demucking processes are used, then standard cleaning is achieved, but embedded impurities remain on surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the cleaning process by using acidic or caustic solutions with specific pH levels and concentrations. These parameter changes enable the chemical solutions to dissolve embedded impurities that conventional neutral cleaning methods cannot remove, achieving more complete impurity removal while maintaining process simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical cleaning actions with chemical dissolution processes. The acidic or caustic solutions chemically react with and dissolve embedded impurities, achieving thorough removal of contaminants that mechanical methods leave behind, thereby improving cleaning completeness without complicating the overall process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively reduces surface impurities on cargo tank surfaces in an energy-efficient manner, providing a safer and faster alternative to conventional methods by using targeted chemical solutions to dissolve and flush out embedded impurities.
Implementation Method 1
using an active chemical solution to mobilize at least a portion of the impurities deposited on the surface of the cargo tank into the active chemical solution
Implementation Method 2
allowing the active chemical solution to subsequently remove embedded impurities from the surface
Data Source
AI summary
A process to remove impurities from a surface of a cargo tank of a vessel used to transport liquid hydrocarbons includes using an active chemical solution to dissolve at least a portion of the impurities or the matrix in which they are embedded deposited n the surface of the cargo tank. The process also includes allowing the active chemical solution to subsequently remove embedded impurities from the surface.