The oil & refinery industry demands round-the-clock housekeeping. The problem of fine dust floating constantly in the air or forming a thin carpet on the floors calls for specialised equipment with special features to ensure that air quality levels are maintained well within the prescribed limits.
Floor / Road Sweepers
The sweeping machines required for the dusty atmosphere around the plants and roads should have large filtration. The hopper capacity can be medium size as the density of dust to be picked up is very heavy. Medium size hopper also provides good maneuverability to diesel engine operated machines with extra inlet cleaners for the engine air filtration. It is recommended for increased life of the engine and improved performance. The sweeping machines can be provided with cabin for the driver to make it comfortable to work in the dusty and sunny environment.
A road sweeper/ vacuum sweeper will be highly beneficial for any oil & refinery plant to maintain cleanliness inside the plant, housing colonies, packing areas, refilling station…etc,.
Some of the special features, to be evaluated for a road sweeper / vacuum sweeper for these industrial applications are:
• Dust-free sweeping of larger area with good speed.
• Good hopper capacity with adequate hopper-weight carrying ratio to have longer life on hydraulics.
• Robust steel frame for touch environments with advanced body suspension for extremely smooth operating.
• Powerful climbing ability for 25% or more.
• Easy, access to all major components, hydraulic testing points keep service cost down.
• Highly sealed machine with pre-filter system for heavy dusty applications will have longer engine life as compared to sweeper machine with automobile engine system used by some manufacturers.
The Hako/PowerBoss vacuum sweepers marketed by RMCL that are running at various factories have proved successful with consistent working for several decades.
Floor scrubbers
The ride on scrubber machines are used for floor scrubbing. They have to remove oil and muggy contents from the shop floor and work places. The silicon carbide brush with heady duty degreaser takes care of the task.
High pressure washers
These machines are absolutely needed for cleaning of pipe lines , vessels and spillage material.
Cleaning tools
Cleaning tools like mops , telescopic poles and brushes are ideally needed to clean the pipe line and elevated transportation zones.
The main features that are needed for the machines are :
• IAQ could be optimised by using proper filteration systems like HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air ) and ULPA (Ultra Low Particulate Air ) in the machines.
• Products should be built with Robust recyclable plastic parts, powder coated at the heavy wear parts, easy to service and maintain by providing enough accessibility with a proven life cycle.
• The cost of the equipment should be as low as possible. Must be easy to operate, less complicated and possibly be operated with a reasonable training. The efficiency of the equipment must be high. It should also possess energy and water saving features.
• Safe electrical circuits, emergency buttons assures a safer machine. Recommended sound level is below 70 dB . Usage of maintenance free gel batteries also emphasizes on safety point.
• Research activities are going on to use biofuel in the fossil fuel operated cleaning machines. When biofuels are used , upto 40 % of carbon emissions could be saved. In Europ, an EU directive has asked the governments to ensure a minimum of 13% biofuel is mixed in all fuels. Presently in Finland, 19% of country’s energy needs are sourced from biofuel.
Balathandayutham
Head-product training
Roots Multiclean Ltd
