Automated Hydroblasting Services

Restore the Efficiency of Piping Tanks and Heat Exchangers with Automated Hydroblasting Services

When injection treatment and chemical cleaning can’t restore your midstream assets, mechanical cleaning might be your only alternative, other than actually replacing extremely expensive vessels or systems. Automated hydroblasting is the solution to many difficult cleaning challenges, and it’s less hazardous, often faster, and less expensive than other industrial cleaning methods.

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BENEFITS

Benefits of Automated Hydroblasting

Our skilled hydroblasting team and cutting-edge technology bring all the benefits of this innovative method to your cleaning project, including:

Effective

Most thorough, uniform method for eliminating buildup, fouling and debris

Safe

Reduced risk of injury, with no need for workers to enter confined spaces

Clean

No toxic chemicals are used— only high-pressure water

Contained

Easier to set up containment and mitigate waste

Efficient

Faster cleaning with less manpower. Safely run multiple lanes at one time, symmetrical cleaning, not dependent on manpower.

What is Automated Hydroblasting?

It’s a highly effective, time-saving method of water jet cleaning using our high-pressure equipment (10,000–40,000 psi). Equipment is controlled from outside the vessel, tank or system, making this a safer method. Automated hydroblasting is both safe and extremely powerful. For midstream oil and gas, it’s the ideal choice for the best results in the toughest maintenance, turnaround and emergency cleaning situations. Other terms for hydroblasting are water blasting and water jetting.

How Does Automated Hydroblasting Work?

With automation, our highly trained operators and technicians can run several high-pressure water pumps and hydroblasting hoses simultaneously, from a safe distance. It’s different from autonomous cleaning, which involves robots (and which is also a service we offer). With automated hydroblasting, our technicians are making cleaning decisions and performing the cleaning using highly specialized equipment. The result is that your equipment is optimized for heat exchange and pressure, and downtime is kept to a minimum.

Let’s discuss your cleaning needs

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OUR HYDROBLASTING SERVICES

Our Custom Approach to Industrial Cleaning

Skillful and knowledgeable in multiple water jet cleaning applications, our automated hydroblasting team will create a custom plan to achieve your goals and clean any piece of equipment. In a few cases, manual hydroblasting or water jetting might be recommended—or at the other end of the spectrum, robotic cleaning. We will discuss the options with you to maximize safety, speed, value and cleaning effectiveness. We specialize in midstream oil and gas assets.

When you request a quote, we’ll put together a plan to meet your specific needs. Our capabilities include all tanks and vessels, including slug catchers, as well as storage tank cleaning for inspections. Our automated hydroblasting services include:

Automated Hydro Lancing of Heat Exchanger Tubes

Line Mole Pipe Cleaning

Shotgun Exterior TUBE and Vessel Channel Heads

2D, 3D Head Tank Cleaning

SHELL-SIDE CLEANING of exchangers

ROBOTICS CLEANING OF LARGE VESSELS AND TANKS

Automated Hydro Lancing of Heat Exchanger Tubes

We use cutting-edge automated lancing technology. The StoneAge AutoBox ABX-2L provides engineering controls that eliminate the need to hand lance, making the lancing process safer and more efficient. Using the AutoBox allows one operator to perform continuous forward and back cleaning with two lances at a time. (We also still have hand-lancing capabilities for those special hard-to-reach vessels, those with interference issues and smaller heat exchangers.) Benefits of automated hydro lancing include:

Faster Cleaning: Most thorough, uniform method for eliminating buildup and debris
Less Risk: Automation makes the process hands-free
Less Downtime: It’s very efficient, especially for larger equipment

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Line Mole Pipe Cleaning

Sierra Chemicals has the ability to clear pipes fouled with hydrocarbons, scale or fouling from unknown sources. Pipe diameter is not an issue—from 1/2-inch to 40 inches, we have the equipment and knowledge to get your system flowing properly, including.

BJV (2D Tool) slow-rotating tool, which runs on a tracked centralizer that expands to fit the inside diameter of the piping.
2-inch Badger (2D Tool) self-rotating high-speed swivel, designed for cleaning pipes/tubes with bends and long radius elbows, such as U-Tubes and process lines.

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Shotgun Exterior Bundles and Vessel Channel Heads

With two different shotgun heads, we have the flexibility and versatility to clean on the surface and at tube bundle depth. The rotating two-head shotgun tip effectively removes seating surface scale and fouling. Our shotgunners are protected by a 40,000 psi shroud and TurtleSkin personal protective equipment.

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3D Head Tank Cleaning

With our 3D-head tank cleaner we eliminate the need to enter the tank or vessel. Permit-Required Confined Space Entry becomes obsolete and the significant cost of rescue services is not applicable. The high-volume and high-pressure jet streams cut through the toughest fouling inside these tanks. We have the significant advantage of adding H2S and explosive gas chemical inhibitors while we clean.

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TESTIMONIALS

Hear From A Customer

“Sierra Chemicals was our first call when we needed help with a plate and fin exchanger that was plugged up. Our exchanger was completely clogged with a mixture of mol sieve dust and heavy hydrocarbons. For us to replace this exchanger, it would involve waiting for 7 months just for the parts to be manufactured at a cost of $500,000, plus an estimated loss of revenue of over $4 million with the plant shutdown it would entail.

Sierra worked with us to come up with a cost-effective solution that was tailored to our needs. Sierra had the system cleaned & flushed with methanol and turned back over to us in just 12 hours. Thanks to Sierra’s chemical cleaning, we were able to extend the lifespan of the exchanger and avoid a costly unplanned shutdown.”

– Senior Engineer
Major Midstream Facility, Williston, ND