Polymers vs. SAS Chemistry

Are you sure polymers are the best option for your oil sludge treatment operations? 

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is, “how are the SASES chemicals different from ploymers (flocking agents)?”

In this post, I’d like to provide a simple explanation as to how they’re different, and in doing so encourage you to ask yourself if polymers are the best option for your oil sludge treatment operations.

This explanation is designed for those with little knowledge of chemistry.  For those who are interested in the full technical explanation, please feel free to give us a call to discuss in more detail.   It’s an extremely interesting topic, but most lose interest after the first 30 seconds.

I’ll start by defining what I mean by the term “oil sludge & slops” and typically what our customers are trying to achieve through treatment.   “Oil sludge & slops” are typically waste streams with a high content of oil and solids, with water making up anywhere from 10% - 90% of the waste.  Typically, the objective when treating this type of waste is to recover the useable oil, clean the solids for disposal and clean the water, which is sent to a wastewater treatment facility.   Therefore, the goal is more oil recovery, cleaner solids and cleaner water. 

 Here are a few images of typical oil sludge and slops:

How are the chemistries different?

Polymer based chemistries (or flocking agents) are “grabbing” chemistries.  They are extremely effective at pulling particles together to form large cluster sizes.  In the case of oil sludge, which contain water, oil and solids, flocking agents pull the oil and solid particles together, leaving a clean water phase.  However, the downside of this type of chemistry is that you’re left with very tightly bound oil and solids, making it extremely difficult to remove the oil from the solids.  In most cases, the use of polymers in this type of application results in extremely difficult to treat oil-contaminated solids.  So, with polymers you get clean water, but very oily solids and you recover almost no oil.

The surfactant-based micro-emulsion developed by SASES is a “releasing” chemistry.  The chemistry is specifically designed to break the chemical bond that holds the oil to the solids.  This means that when the SASES chemistry comes in contact with the oil contaminated solids, the oil is released.  Once the oil is released from the solids, gravity does the rest of the work to separate the oil, water and solid phases – in some cases centrifugation is used to accelerate the separation process.    The advantage of this approach is that you’re left with a very clean solid, clean water and an extremely high quality oil that can be recovered and recycled/re-used or sold on the open market. 

Here is an image of the waste after being treated with the micro-emulsion:

Polymers are useful for water treatment as there is not a high proportion of solids and/or oil in this type of waste.   However, as the waste stops being a “contaminated water” or “oily water” and becomes a thicker oil sludge or slop, polymers often make the problem worse, instead of being part of the solution.  

Polymers absolutely have their place in the waste treatment industry.  However, there are definitely other types of chemistries that are more effective on the “thicker” more “oily” wastes. 

Find out more about micro-emulsion chemistry in our Whitepaper.

4 Ways That SAS-ES Minimizes Risk for Oil-Contaminated Waste

Update: In the last weeks we looked at what the SAS ES Process is and why it is unique. The answer is simple. It is unique because your waste is unique and we tailor-make the solution for you. This article was published last year and looks our chemicals more in-depth. It is a great addition to give you a comprehensive overview of how we design our solutions.

We are frequently contacted by consultants and waste treatment professionals looking for solutions for treating oil-contaminated waste such as slops, muds, tank bottom sludge and refinery waste. They explain they’re looking at both chemical and thermal solutions, and are weighing up the pros and cons. The number one reason for seriously considering SAS-ES as part of the solution is risk reduction.

Here are 4 reasons why SAS-ES offers you the lowest risk option, and why you should take a serious look at SAS-ES chemical based system before committing to any significant investment.

1. CapEx: The SAS-ES chemical based system often requires low capex because it is sometimes possible to use existing equipment or even simply gravity separation. If no equipment is available, the capex will be less than $1m per MIST System. Thermal units cost in the region of $5m - $7m per unit. 

1. Throughput: The SAS-ES chemical based system has a throughput of 6-20T/hour. Thermal units typically have a throughput of 2-6T/hour. This enhanced throughput will significantly increase the revenue generating potential from the operations.  

1. Flexibility: The SAS-ES chemical based solution is effective on a wide range of waste types, ranging from very “wet” to “drier” wastes. Thermal units are only effective on relatively dry waste. If the waste has too much liquid, the thermal unit is ineffective. The increased flexibility will allow you to treat a wider range of wastes, reducing the risk of receiving waste you simply can’t treat.

1. Low Risk Test: If you have a centrifuge and oil contaminated waste, for only a few thousand dollars it’s possible to get very accurate cost/performance data on your specific waste stream, allowing you to develop a solid business case. With the SAS-ES approach, it is possible to spend only a few thousand dollars to potentially save $5m-$7m! 

The reality is that in many cases it is a combination of using SAS-ES chemical first. The key is understanding when to use what. For high volume, low capex, high flexibility, and risk minimization, the SAS-ES chemical solution is tough to beat.  

Find out more about our chemicals for oil waste treatment by visiting our website today! 

ADIPEC 2019 here we come...

Around this time of the year if you’re a kid you’re looking forward to winter holidays. If you’re working in the Oil & Gas industry, you’re looking forward to ADIPEC. And that goes for the SAS Team as well.

A little bit about ADIPEC

Set to begin next week, from 11 to 14 November, ADIPEC is consider one of the top events in the industry and for a good reason. A more contemporary event, ADIPEC started in 2005 and in the last 14 years it established itself as a leading promulgator for the Oil & Gas development with success stories rewarded with the prestigious ADIPEC Awards.

This year ADIPEC focuses on Gas & Oil 4.0 and its particular means of achieving it through digitalisation. Gas & Oil 4.0 refers to Industry 4.0, hailed as the 4th Industrial Revolution. In essence it’s a trend of technological improvement, automation and data exchange that will make Oil & Gas ‘smarter’, more efficient, more secure, more profitable and more environmentally friendly.

The SAS way is the ADIPEC way

SAS Environmental Services is great supporter of this impactful progress. Our innovative chemistry and processes deal with waste in a conscientious way and help ease daily production and maintenance activities. Feedback from our partners include acknowledgements of energy and cost efficiency, increased oil recovery, water safe disposal back into the environment and a reduced carbon footprint. These solutions integrated with the new technological advancements help consolidate your vision.

We hope you’ll let us support you in this new era. The SAS Team - Mark, John and Laura – will be happy to welcome you at the Scottish Pavilion, stand # 1210. We’d love to hear your new ideas, achievements and challenges.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you wish to arrange for a meeting beforehand. If not, see you there!