May/June 2010 - Keppel Offshore & Marine

TECHNOLOGYA squeaky-clean solutionBefore the cleaningAfter the cleaningClose-up pictures of the tank surface conditions before and after cleaning using Bio-OSRThe surface condition oTank cleaning is a necessaryprocedure for tankers before theyundergo repair or conversions.The conventional tank cleaningmethod can be a potentiallydangerous operation as it requiresa large number of workers to enterthe tanks to manually scrape offthe oily sludge attached to thebulkheads and the interior.they also contain Volatile OrganicCompounds, which are toxic tohuman beings.In view of the potential hazards,KOMtech has developed a moreenvironmentally-friendly, effectiveand safer solvent, Bio-Oil & SludgeRemover (Bio-OSR) for tankcleaning.After the sludge has beenremoved from the tanks, tanksurfaces, both bulkheads and theinterior of the tanks have to bethoroughly cleaned. Conventionalpetrochemical-based solventsare normally used to clean thesurface. These solvents are madeof non-renewable petroleum andpetrochemical products, and theyare highly flammable. In addition,Unlike conventional cleaningsolvents Bio-OSR is formulatedwith biodiesel and some specialadditives, to meet the safetystandard and heavy duty cleaningrequirement. Bio-OSR is effectivein removing oily contaminantsassociated with oil storage andproduction systems. It has beentested in the shipyard and receivedpositive feedback.28OffshoreMarine May – June 2010