SAS MIST - Waste Preparation Module

Where the Waste Module fits into the SAS MIST Process

I’m going to walk you through our MIST process waste preparation module. The MIST process uses our unique microemulsion chemistry to take oil sludge and oil slops waste and convert it into high quality oil water and dry solids that are safe for disposal. The whole MIST process basically runs as follows.:

The waste is in the tank, a pit or a lagoon. We remove it from the pit and we put it through the waste preparation module. We add the chemistry, we mix it, then we put the waste through the separation stage where we have a decanter – centrifuge, which removes the solids, the solids go to disposal, the centrate goes into a settling pond or tank and the oil and water simply face separate, the oil floats to the top, the water sinks to the bottom - that’s the MIST process.

What is the Waste Preparation Module

One question that kept appearing in my inbox was about the waste preparation module. What is that, why is that part of the system, how do I use it, and why are the people at SAS Environmental services so excited about this waste preparation module?

Basically it is a 20 foot container size frame. This waste preparation module adds a capability to our MIST process that was originally designed to treat liquid waste and adds the capability to treat waste with a much higher solids content or solid waste. Now you might have solid waste but it still has 20% hydrocarbons in it and you can’t put that waste through a decanter centrifuge. But with these two high-speed blending tanks what we can do is take that waste put it in one of these two tanks add our chemistry to it which helps break up the waste and helps to kind of liquefy it but then we can add oil to it or even water to it to create an oil sludge and that oil sludge is then processed through a separation stage leaving you with dry solids with virtually no oil on it no hydrocarbons on it and oil and water that you can recycle.

One solution, not three

So now, a typical waste pit is all over the place with regards to the nature of the waste. One part you may see liquid which is no doubt a lot of rain water that has come in and there’s probably some light hydrocarbons. There’s another part of the pit which is kind of black sludgy, which no doubt has oil and water in it but it’s pretty much solid already. Certainly the top layer and then closer to the front is much all the waste but it will still have 5% to 15% hydrocarbons on it.

Now you don’t really want to have three different systems to treat three different types of oil waste. We have one chemistry that will do it all but by adding this waste preparation module we can take this solid waste add oil to it or even water to it mix it in our waste preparation module and we can then still treat it through the decanter centrifuge we have at the separation stage giving you much drier solids free of hydrocarbons and the oil and water recovered. So this one module that we have, you can treat waste on one side, you can mix it, you can add a chemistry to it, you can add oil to it, you could add diesel to it, you could add another solvent to it, you can add water to it, you mix it, you get it ready, you get the solids content down to 15 to 20 % at most, and then while you do that the other tank where you have waste that’s already been prepped, that tank empties out into the decanter. That waste is being processed and once that tank has been processed you switch back to the other tank and so you have a continuous batch process and it allows your decanter to take on in your system, to take on a whole range of oil waste materials that it would normally not be able to treat and process.

So that’s why we think this is a brilliant system and why we think you should be excited about it too.

Find out more about the Waste Preparation Module from Mark Zwinderman in our Case Study Video.

The guide to the SAS MIST - Step by Step

SAS MIST Process

Today I am going to walk you through the SAS Environmental Services MIST process. This is a process for the treatment of liquid oil waste such as mud slops, oil sludge, and refinery waste. Normally, this waste will be stored in a tank, in a pit, in a lagoon, or in a mud skip.

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 Waste Preparation

The first thing we need to do is prepare this waste for effective and proper treatment and make sure we achieve the best results possible. We use a pump, because this is a liquid waste that we are dealing with to pump the waste from the storage. The slops or sludge is pumped into our Waste Preparation Module. This is a dual blend tank setup based within a 20-foot frame. What those to blend tanks allow us to do is ensure that the waste goes into the Separation Stage in the best possible condition for treatment.

The variability of oil waste is enormous and the more we can standardize what goes into the treatment phase, the more successful we will be in the outcomes. These dual blend tanks allow us to do a few things that are very beneficial in the treatment of oil waste.

 First of all, if the waste is very high in solids, the blending tanks will allow us to reduce the solids content in the waste by adding some amount of water, oil or another solvent. This allows us to create waste with an overall lower solids content. This helps to improve the effectiveness of the decanter centrifuge at the separation stage. Also, there are times when we have very viscous waste, and adding a solvent can actually help reduce the viscosity. That in its own right can help at the separation stage when we want to remove the solids from the waste.

Innovative chemistry

The other thing we can do at the blending tanks stage is to add the SAS SludgeTreat products. This the chemistry that makes SAS-ES such a unique company. What the chemistry will do is start to work on the oil and the solids and begin to create that separation effect. We can do this inline right before the separation stage, but doing it at the waste preparation module stage gives us the opportunity to blend a little bit longer is needed. For example when the waste is particularly difficult, when there are as many different chemicals present in the waste, or when we have a higher solid loading.

The other benefit is that sometimes by blending chemistry and oil sludge for a longer period of time, it can actually reduce chemical dose rate a little bit. So, this is a very good capability to have in front of the separation stage. What it allows us to do by using those two blending tanks is that one blending tank is preparing the waste and mixing, the other blending tank is feeding the decanter. In effect, what we have enabled is a continuous batch process.

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The SAS MIST Engineering

The MIST system itself, the separation stage, has a pump which will pump the waste from the relevant blending tank. This waste will then be processed through the decanter centrifuge which forms the core of our MIST treatment stage. This decanter is very robust. It has been proven in the field for decades. It does a fantastic job, and because our chemistry is now so thoroughly mixed into the waste, what you get is very dry solids recovered. These solids will come out the side of the MIST unit through a discharge port, and the solids are disposed off in a skip or in a pit that is located next to the treatment system.

The MIST process produces very dry solids, so we do not get a wet sludge coming out the side. And of course, dry solids minimizes the amount of waste for disposal because all the liquid that you would normally get into this “wet solids” discharge would have to be paid for at the disposal site. By producing a really dry, nice, powdery sludge, you get a fantastic result because of the SAS SludgeTreat chemistry.

The other discharge coming out of the decanter centrifuge is the liquid centrate. This is a mixture of the oil and the water. The centrate is pumped from the decanter out of the MIST system. The centrate is placed into a storage tank. In the storage tank, because the system has removed virtually all of the solids and because the SAS SludgeTreat chemistry is present, the oil and the water are simply going to separate under gravity.

 The oil is going to float to the top. You can recover this oil. You can sell it. You can reuse it. You can run a generator of it. Sometimes, you might want to bring that oil back to the preparation stage and dilute heavy sludge if that is what you are treating, and on the other end, you will be recovering the water. The water can either be discharged to the surface, to a sewer, go to a wastewater treatment plant, undergo further cleaning or filtration, depending on where you are, what the regulations and your permits are.

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That, in a nutshell, is the MIST process. It is very effective. It is very robust. It handles virtually any type of liquid oil waste. If you want to know anything more and you have any questions, then do not hesitate to email us or give us a ring and get in touch with us. We would love to hear from you. Thank you.

Want to discover more? Listen to mark explain the SAS Process in the video below:

The Importance of Getting to Know Your Oil Contaminated Waste

Update: At SAS ES we have a process. And it has proven to be a success for all our clients. But this is a process of co-creation and cooperation. You enable us to design the perfect solution to your challenge by understanding your waste and understanding your situation. Check out one of our older articles where we explain how we are partners in treating waste.

When it comes to oil contaminated waste, knowing is half the battle. 

We talk to 100s of companies every year who are seeking solutions to their oil contaminated waste challenges. For about 80% of the cases we’re able to offer an effective solution. We’re able to deliver this level of success because we’re obsessed with truly understanding the waste and the overall solution.

Without understanding the waste and the broader context of the situation, it’s virtually impossible to offer a workable solution. In this post I share the types of questions we ask in order to get to the root of the problem and offer a viable solution. If you’re dealing with oil contaminated waste, you may find these questions useful as you explore possible solutions.

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Understanding the waste: Over the last 18 years we’ve come across just about every type of oil contaminated waste… sludges, slops, drill cuttings, drilling waste, drilling muds, slurries, tank bottom sludges, refinery waste, thick emulsions, crude sludges, and many many more. In some cases, the terminology can be misleading. Some will call a “slop” a “sludge” or “drill cuttings” a “drilling waste”, and sometimes we just get, “it’s ugly black stuff”. This is why we are less concerned about the terminology and more concerned about the actual waste. For us, it’s not critical what it’s called. More important issues are what’s in it, what’s the objective, and what are the economic drivers? 

To effectively understand a waste, it’s important to ask some very specific questions:

1. Specifically, what is the source of the waste?

2. Is it all one type of waste or is it a collection of different wastes?

3. If it’s a collection, specifically, what are the sources?

4. Does the waste come from one site or multiple sites?

5. Specifically, what has been done to the waste over what time frame?

6. What is in the waste? – be as specific as possible. 

After answering these questions, everyone should have a pretty good idea of what we’re actually dealing with. This will give us a reasonable starting point for finding a solution.

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Understanding the situation: The next step is to understand the full context of the situation. This can vary greatly depending on the waste, the location and the nature of the project.

There are some key questions we always ask:

1. Specifically, what are you trying to achieve? Why? Why? Why? – Sometimes the first answer doesn’t provide the true motivation.

2. Do you require the “perfect” solution or just a “better” solution? – While the starting point may be to find the perfect solutions, in many cases a “significantly better” solution is an excellent result. Where perfect may be cost prohibitive, “significantly better” may be feasible.

3. What are the implications if you don’t find a solution?

4. What are the drivers? – Oil recovery? Disposal costs? Access to water? Processing capacity? Waste volumes? Storage space? 

The answers to these questions will significantly influence the design and implementation of the best solution. Understanding the entire situation enables the development of the best solution.

If you have an oil contaminated waste treatment challenge, truly understanding the problem is the only way to find the right solution. These questions help us and hopefully they will help you in finding the right solution for your situation.

If you think we could help you find the right solution for your oil waste treatment please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you! 

Assessing the waste parameters

In my previous blog post on the process we use at SAS Environmental Services to deliver the right solution to each of our clients I covered the importance we place on understanding the issues surrounding the oil waste and the required outcomes to achieved.

In this blog I want to talk a little bit about the second step on the road to successful waste treatment. We call it the “Assess” step and it really contains a lot of our experience of gained in successfully managing oil waste projects and the effectiveness of our unique chemical technology in new and existing operations.

Because we have a unique chemical technology that enables a whole new way of treating and managing oil based waste the assumption is often that the chemistry needs to be tested on the waste itself. In most cases this is not needed as we already know from 20 years of operations where the chemistry will be effective and where it will not. The assessment here is about the exact parameters of the oil waste in questions and the nature of the treatment process. Oil waste such as slop or sludge is almost always variable in composition. This means any effective treatment process will need to have several steps. This can include a pre-screening step, blending in of solvents or oil or water and the use of heat. The assessment going on at this stage is the determination of the steps needed to take the waste from one state (the start) to another state (treated). This often takes the form of conversation with the client and at times some additional lab work to confirm and evaluate the impact of these waste manipulations.

“The assessment here is about the exact parameters of the oil waste in questions and the nature of the treatment process. ”

— Mark Zwinderman | CEO

Once we have an outline of the steps needed to treat the waste and we have a clear view of the operational circumstances (Remote site? Power availability? Space?) we can sit down with the client and discuss the economics of the process, what investments are required and to what extent the existing infrastructure can be augmented using our technology to improve results.

At this point we have a clear picture of the steps needed to treat the waste and the operational circumstances in which to treat the waste. There is also a good understanding of the expected economics. That means it is time to “Design” the process and solution! More on that step in the next blog.

The cutting edge: getting rid of your drill cuttings

A constant challenge is to balance your waste treatment with a sustainable process that is not only more efficient but also more profitable in the long term. If you've caught up with this month's newsletter then you're up to date with our discussion with ways available to reduce emissions relating to the treatment of drill cuttings. Straight and simple - switching to a low energy cuttings treatment process as the SAS MIST system will reduce emissions by 2/3 compared to thermal systems.

 

The way liquid slops go....

Another waste product from the drilling and exploration process is the liquid slops consisting of mud residue, wash pills, water, oil, solids and whatever else was on the rig and had to be disposed off. This waste is notoriously hard to treat. There are some methods out there but most tend to struggle when solids content is over 4% or so. Our chemistry and process especially likes the slops once the solids get over 4%!

For the treatment of oil slops waste there are some very easy ways to reduce transport and treatment energy use and therefor emissions.

Most slops waste is still stored in pits, skips and tanks or transported to a waste facility where the waste is treated by mixing with solid drilling waste and processed through a thermal treatment system.This presents a number of issues. Storing the waste is great if you are renting out skips and tanks, not so great if you are the company doing the renting!

The treatment of liquid slops waste via thermal processes is inefficient and energy intensive. The high liquid content will also slow down the solids treatment process.

The three-way split...

The SAS MIST process uses our unique chemistry to split the slops waste into its three main phases:

1. The oil is recovered and can be used again.

2. The water is recovered and discharged or re-used.

3. The solids (5 – 15% of the waste) are the only waste material.

This means that in less than a minute we can take the slops, mix with our chemistry and split the waste into oil, water and solids. And that is not the only advantage!

The process is robust and can be moved to the rig site, which reduces transport logistics of the waste, minimises the need for slops storage and returns base oil to where it is needed. Processing up to 40ton of slops per hour the process keeps the waste under control.

As no heat is required the process is low energy and reduces emissions greatly. And we are working to ensure that solar panel units can be used to run the process. Just another robust, proven method to reduce costs and to reduce CO2 emissions relating to oil waste management.

If you would like more information about our SAS MIST System don't hesitate to drop us an email. We would love to hear from you!