TRADEBE’s Industrial Services team, from our LaPorte, TX location, recently performed an emergency tank service for a Philadelphia, PA refinery. TRADEBE’s team was on site at the refinery, working on an unrelated tank desludging
operation when asked to simultaneously slurry and remove product from a tank which had been previously started by another contractor.
The client requested emergency assistance for another tank, which was in the process of being pumped down by another contractor in preparation for cleaning.
The tank contained a significant, high-density fuel oil product. Attempts by other contractors to remove and process the sludge had failed TRADEBE’s highly skilled team, experienced in the specific challenges of these types of cleanings,
was able to offer the client a viable solution.
Specialized equipment was set up by the crew including a hydraulic robotic cannon to slurry the material. The product was then transferred on-site to existing operations, while the remaining sludge was processed.
TRADEBE’s client was very satisfied with the services performed. The tank was returned to service immediately; while the original desludging project continued and was completed successfully - on time and without incident.
TRADEBE’s Field Service team, from our Meriden, CT location, provided contaminated soil remediation services to an international manufacturing company.
The contamination was removed from beneath an active facility, to a depth of 20’ below the concrete slab floor. Low ceilings and structural concerns made this project very challenging; considering the nature of working inside of a building using heavy equipment.
Experience made the difference TRADEBE’s project managers initiated a project CASE STUDY Step Down Excavation Remediation plan for stepped down excavation; eliminating the need for costly shoring that other competitive contractors were proposing.
Over 1,000 tons of solvent-contaminated soil were removed, transported and disposed of. The area was backfilled, and a new concrete slab was poured. TRADEBE’s client was very satisfied with the services performed - on time and under budget by utilizing a method that avoided much more costly on-site treatment and long-term monitoring and liability.
Tradebe provide the provision of a waste handling and disposal service, for a number of waste streams produced on site including the following:
( Mixed Municipal Waste, Wash Water Filter Cake, Inert Construction and Demolition Waste, Plasterboard Waste, WEEE , Wood, Cardboard, Paper, Plastic Waste, Glycol and Water Oily Rags and Wipes, Oil Contaminated waste, Aerosol Containers, Waste Solvent- Based Cleaners, Waste Grease, Lab Smalls, Waste Paints,,Rinsing Effluent, Waste Oil,Turbine washings,Fluorescent Lamps )
The contract is managed via an assigned Contract Manager and operational support provided by the local facility. Tradebe provide all containers, transport, labour and compliant paper. The delivery of containers was rolled out over the 1st month of the contract and when required.
Tradebe have completed a compliance audit on the site. Within the audit, we have provided Risk Assessments and Method Statements for the collection disposal, treatment and recycling of waste. General waste is collected on a scheduled collection and taken to the subcontractors transfer station where all waste is segregated, to reduce the volumes of waste to landfill. Further segregation has been implemented for general waste at the point the waste is produced this in turn has helped work towards achieving 50%-70% recycling rate.Tradebe provide a chemist to list, pack and label packaged waste at this point the chemist segregates the laboratory waste in to packaging groups suitable for transport and storage.
We are working towards improvements which will include incorporating a bespoke system for the segregation of waste streams to help maximise recycling. Tradebe manage the recycling with regular audits of the waste and periodically attend site on the same day as the waste collections and complete a visual audit from cradle to grave to ensure all waste is dispose/recycled in the correct manner. Audits in terms of compliance, licensing, permits, and quality of supply have been carried out on the sub-contractors and will be maintained throughout the contract duration.
Tradebe have agreed and set KPI’s with the client to monitor performance which will be reviewed at the monthly meetings. The KPI’s include:
Regular reporting within agreed time period
- Maximising the recycling
- Minimise waste to landfill
- Compliance
- Continuous improvement
- War on Waste work shops and training
Tradebe opperate and manage the ETP (effluent treatment plant) at a large manufacturing facility. The contract is managed via an asigned Contract Manager supported by an Operations Manager and dedicated on-site personnel.
The Contract Manager and Operations Manager attend site twice per month as a minimum or more if necessary they also attending the monthly review meeting.
Tradebe provide a monthly report for the client, used to assess the ETP and to help towards highlighting where improvements can be made i.e.
- Change sulphuric acid dosing to hydrochloric acid – upstream improvements
- Re-instate old DAF plant to pre-treat or retreat failed effluent
- Improve centrifuge operation to produce revenue generating waste oil
We provide all staff with a training programme and offer support to the client for personnel training. We have provided significant Opex savings since the start of the contract in 2009.
Tradebe Manage all the Non hazardous and Hazardous waste on site including all industrial cleaning.
Tradebe Total Waste Management provide a dedicated Contract Manager who provides all support, reports and attends monthly meetings. Tradebe have set contract hours to attend site.
As part of the contract Tradebe provided training for all company personnel which includes tool box talks, lunch time forums and business group meetings. Tradebe track waste streams by waste & location offering an environmental report showing weights, quantities and disposal routes this is then broken down by business groups for further analysis. Tradebe can then suggest changes in practices to certain wastes to minimise volumes.
Tradebe constantly look to source new technologies for recycling, treatment and disposal of waste to help towards cost reduction and reduction on volume of waste.
The Customer Challenge
Akzo-Nobel (formerly ICI) owned a remote-handled alpha-active material that presented unique challenges because of its varied physical and chemical characteristics. The challenge was to develop and implement treatment strategies that eliminated the liability at least cost to the customer.
The Tradebe Inutec Solution
Tradebe Inutec provided a complete solution to managing alpha-active material. Work included initial consultancy on management options and characterisation of the material that led to the bulk of the material being returned to beneficial use. Tradebe Inutec developed treatment schemes for the residual material and designed, built, and operated a plant to process the waste for disposal.
Value to Customers
The customer chose Inutec because of its all-round capabilities that enable it to provide a complete solution to complex waste management challenges.
Tradebe Inutec provided consultancy advice and technology so that the client was able to dispose of the waste and reduce its liabilities by several £M.
The Customer Challenge
The customer had a large number of drums containing spent desiccant. These drums were potentially contaminated with tritium to ILW levels, and had been mixed with used desiccant drums. In addition the tritium in the older drums containing used desiccant may have decayed to LLW levels.
The Tradebe Inutec Solution
Tradebe Inutec’s considerable experience in the design and operation of a variety of types of sampling equipment, working and taking samples at customers sites, technical experts and its facility to handle the samples enabled Tradebe Inutec to take samples from drums and characterise the drums as free-release, LLW or ILW.
Value to Customers
The customer valued the quality of the work, the report content and Tradebe Inutec’s ability to offer alternative solutions to their problem. The report’s conclusions enabled the customer to understand the desiccant waste stream and for them to make a decision as to the next stage of disposal.
The Customer Challenge
Oldbury Magnox Power Station has a large tank which was full of Active Effluent Treatment Plant (AETP) sludge that needed to be removed, treated and disposed of so that operations could continue. The sludge had accumulated over 40 years and its properties varied widely throughout the tank. The project presented the customer with two main challenges:
- to mix the sludge in the tank so that it could be reliably sampled and analysed, to confirm its suitability for disposal as LLW and to develop a robust treatment formulation
- to encapsulate the mixed sludge retrieved from the tank in a way that minimised the volume of waste for disposal.
The Tradebe Inutec Solution
Tradebe Inutec pioneered:
- air-driven technology to homogenise the waste in the tank without adding to the volume of the waste
- a treatment formulation that gained LLWR approval for disposal
- a new mobile plant that dealt with the sludge at the customer’s site and increased efficiency and cut costs.
Tradebe Inutec developed a process of encapsulating the sludge in cement and pouring the encapsulated sludge to make full use of the capacity of the ISO container.
Tradebe Inutec worked as an integral part of the Oldbury project and our Team effort and pro-active approach was highly valued by the Client.
Value to Customers
The customer had fewer containers to send to LLWR. This and a reduction in processing time, from 12 weeks to five weeks, and shortening the overall project duration by four months, saved £800,000 for the UK taxpayer.
This project was therefore a 'win win' scenario for the Client as Tradebe Inutec significantly reduced production costs along with the volume of waste sent to LLWR.
Tradebe Inutec’s plant is mobile and Inutec were able to remove the plant from the site when the work was completed.
There were no safety incidents and the Client was highly satisfied with the work.
The Customer Challenge
The customer had approximately 16 cubic metres of LLW sludge that they required to be disposed of to the Low Level Waste Repository. The challenge set was to dispose of this waste, meeting LLWR requirements of waste minimisation and compliance with the Conditions for Acceptance.
The Tradebe Inutec Solution
Tradebe Inutec was able to transport the LLW sludge from the customers site, utilising its own IP2 certificated Full Height ISO container, back to Winfrith for processing. Rather than direct encapsulation of the waste with cement (a process resulting in a net waste volume increase) Tradebe Inutec were able to offer a waste drying and supercompaction service to significantly reduce the volume of waste for disposal. The waste was first dried within the Tradebe Inutec Wet Waste Dryer and then supercompacted within the Tradebe Inutec Mobile Supercompaction Plant. The final volume of processed waste for disposal to the LLWR was 7.2 cubic metres, an overall volume reduction of 2.2 as compared to the raw waste and 4.5 as compared to a typical cemented product.
Value to Customers
Tradebe Inutec offered a complete solution for the transfer, processing and disposal of the LLW sludge. Importantly, removing the waste for processing at Winfrith minimised any impact on the stations normal operations allowing them to concentrate on their core business. The solution offered by Tradebe Inutec provided a significant reduction in the final waste volume for disposal and hence the disposal charges to the client. As compared to cementation into 200 litre drums it is anticipated that the solution provided a disposal volume cost saving of the order of £150k.
Package Testing 500 litre Drum Drop Test
The Customer Challenge
The customer required two drop tests on two prepared 500 litre drums from heights of 10m and 15m. The purpose was to assess the impact performance in order to validate the finite element impact profile.
The Inutec Solution
Inutec was able to provide a drop test programme consisting of two drops onto a flat unyielding target with the package in a centre of gravity over the lid edge orientation.
For this particular programme Inutec took delivery of the drums, prepared the drums, set up the drops to the customer’s requirements and then carried out the testing. After testing Inutec recovered the two drums and completed the analysis and assessment of the performance.
Data from the two drop tests consisted of detailed metrology, high speed digital video and photogrammetric profile of the impact event.
Value to Customers
The high quality test information provided by Inutec from the successful drop test programme allowed the customer to validate the finite element impact profile without the need for a further drop test programme. This saved the customer a minimum of £50k.
Package Testing 2 metre ILW Box Drop Test
The Customer Challenge
A drop test was required by the customer on a 2 metre ILW Box design to demonstrate satisfactory performance under regulatory impact conditions.
The Inutec Solution
Inutec was able to provide a drop test programme consisting of a single drop from 303 mm flat onto the base of the package.
The drop test was carried out on a full size prototype ILW package, loaded to a gross weight of 50 tonnes.
The drop sequence was combined with pre-drop metrology and package leak testing conducted by the customer; digital photography before and after the drop test, video recording of the drop test, and post-drop metrology and package leak testing again by the customer.
Value to Customer
The high quality test information provided by Inutec from the successful drop test programme allowed the customer to validate the package without the need for an additional drop test. This saved the customer a minimum of £25k.
Package Testing – MOX Fuel Transport PackagePackage Testing – MOX Fuel Transport Package
The Customer Challenge
The customer required a programme of drop tests on two full size MOX fuel transport packages to demonstrate satisfactory performance under regulatory impact conditions and to validate analytical predictions.
The Inutec Solution
Inutec was able to provide a drop test programme consisting of five sequences of five sequences of drops. All drop sequences included a 9 m drop test and a 1 m punch test. Four of the five drop sequences were preceded by a 0.6 m conditioning drop test. Each drop sequence was combined with pre-drop metrology and package leak testing; data acquisition, video and high speed cine film recording, digital photography, damage inspection and metrology during the drop sequence; and post-drop metrology and package leak testing.
Value to Customers
The high quality test information provided by Inutec from the successful drop test programme demonstrated that the package remained intact and leak tight after testing. This allowed the customer to confirm the satisfactory performance of the package, without the need for an additional programme of testing, saving the customer a minimum of £150k.
Se ha investigado la aplicación del bioleaching, o lixiviación de una materia de manera indirecta por la acción de un microrganismo, en lodos de depuradora del sector industrial, para conseguir una reducción en el contenido de metales pesados.
El objetivo principal del proyecto COMPOST ha sido el desarrollo e integración de la tecnología de la biolixivación aplicada a los lodos altamente contaminados con metales pesados, como parte de la investigación para la creación de una nueva tecnología híbrida de mejora del proceso de compostaje. A través de investigación experimental a escala laboratorio, se han podido determinar las mejores condiciones para la obtención de un lodo con una reducción en el contenido de metales pesados como el Cr, superiores al 80%.