Dirty Tanks Come Clean in Albany

In Fall 2007, a shipment of ethanol-blended fuel started an expensive and frustrating period for a gas station owner in the Albany, New York, area. The problem was caused by the ethanol, a solvent, taking the dirt and sludge that had built up inside the tank for more than ten years and causing it to suspend into the fuel. The suspended contaminants were dispensed along with the fuel, and the station operator was soon replacing dispenser filters every two days with costs adding up to thousands of dollars. Customers were frustrated by the slower dispensing times and taking their business elsewhere. The station owner could not continue to live with the lost revenue.

A portable pump supplies cleaning pressure to the Gamajet X, which was lowered into the tank through the standard inlet opening.

The station contacted Albany Tank Services, whose service technician quickly realized that standard tank cleaning methods such as snaking and vacuuming would not solve the problem. The amount and extent of the contamination was such that a method was needed to remove all the contaminants from the entire tank. At the same time, the station owner could not afford to resort to the expensive and time-consuming process of excavating, cutting a manway, entering the tank, cleaning and resealing the manway.

Albany Tank Services contacted Gamajet Cleaning Systems after reading an article in The PEI Journal about more frequent tank cleaning with new fuels. Together, the two companies came up with a process to clean the UST using Albany Tank's vacuum truck and Gamajet's X tank cleaning machine.

The Gamajet X is media-driven and was able to fit through the standard 4-inch diameter tank opening. While the Gamajet can operate using the fuel as the cleaning media, the potential for explosion with gasoline led to the decision to use water as the cleaning solution. Albany Tank Services converted a salvaged 1,000-gallon tank for use as a clean water source and added a 50 GPM, 130-psi Gamajet portable pump to supply the cleaning pressure. Prior to initiating cleaning, the station owner was asked to defer fuel delivery and allow the tankís fuel level to lower.

On the day of the cleaning, all remaining fuel was pumped out using a vacuum truck, and the drop tubes and submersible pumps were removed. The tanks were pumped out and a two-inch suction hose was placed in the lower end of the tank. The Gamajet X was placed in the other end of the tank using clean water as a cleaning agent. Strong jets of water were projected onto every part of the tank interior, and impingement cleaning dislodged the contaminants from the tank surface. Within 10 minutes, the 12,000-gallon tank had been properly cleaned. The scoured-off waste and remaining water was pumped out of the tank. A specialized inspection camera was then used to verify that the tank had been completely cleaned. The fuel distributor delivered gas to the tanks, and the station was back in business.

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The PEI Journal • Third Quarter 2008 • Volume 2, No. 3 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
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