Refinery Sludge Removal in Algeria: SupaVac Pumps for Tank Bottoms, Oil Sludge and Petrochemical Cleaning

Algeria has one of Africa’s most substantial refining and hydrocarbon-processing systems.

SONATRACH lists major refinery assets at Skikda, Arzew, Algiers, Hassi Messaoud and Adrar. The Skikda refinery alone has a published crude-treatment capacity of 16.5 million tonnes per year, while Arzew and Algiers are also significant refining centres.

The refining system is also continuing to develop. In November 2025, SONATRACH signed an EPCC contract for a new heavy-naphtha hydrotreating and reforming unit at the Arzew refinery, with completion planned over a 30-month period.

For Takmeel Global, this makes Algeria a serious application market for tank-bottom sludge removal, refinery sludge transfer, slops cleaning and difficult oily waste recovery.

These are exactly the types of duties SupaVac officially identifies within its oil-and-gas application range.

Refinery Sludge Is Not a Normal Liquid-Transfer Problem

Once a refinery tank has been drained of readily pumpable liquid, material may remain at the bottom.

This can include combinations of:

• oil sludge;
• heavy hydrocarbon residue;
• sediment;
• sand;
• rust and scale;
• process solids;
• water;
• contaminated waste.

The material can be significantly more difficult to move than the product originally stored in the tank.

Selecting a pump only from a desired flow rate therefore misses the main engineering problem.

At Takmeel Global, we look first at:

• solids concentration;
• largest solids;
• specific gravity;
• viscosity;
• suction lift;
• discharge distance;
• compressed-air availability;
• hazardous-area classification.

SupaVac’s Refinery Applications

SupaVac officially lists the following oil-and-gas applications:

• tank cleaning and desludging;
• hazardous-waste recovery;
• spill management;
• petrochemical tank cleaning;
• heavy crude transfer;
• slops sump cleaning;
• oil sludge and tank-bottom residue transfer.

This alignment is important.

We are not trying to force SupaVac into the refinery sector simply because Algeria has refineries. The manufacturer’s documented application scope directly overlaps with the material-handling problems found during refinery and petrochemical cleaning operations.

Tank-Bottom Sludge Removal

Tank-bottom sludge can gradually accumulate during operation.

When the tank is prepared for maintenance or inspection, the residue must be recovered from the floor and transferred to an appropriate receiving point.

The challenge can involve:

• thick sludge;
• mixed solids;
• irregular tank geometry;
• long hose runs;
• restricted access;
• vertical lifting;
• changing material consistency.

A solids-vacuum system becomes particularly relevant when conventional liquid-transfer equipment is poorly matched to the remaining residue.

Petrochemical Tank Cleaning

SupaVac specifically lists petrochemical tank cleaning as an application.

The SV250V, for example, officially includes:

• petrochemical tank cleaning;
• heavy crude transfer;
• thickener desludging;
• drilling mud and cuttings transfer.

It provides 100 mm suction/discharge connections and manufacturer-rated throughput above 60 m³/hr at SG1.0 under stated test conditions.

Actual refinery-sludge performance will depend on the material and transfer geometry.

A 60 m³/hr manufacturer rating at SG1.0 should never be treated as a guaranteed flow rate for heavy oil sludge.

Heavy-Duty Tank-Bottom Residue

For larger and more difficult applications, the SupaVac SV510 directly lists:

• oil sludge and tank-bottom residue transfer;
• tank cleaning and sludge extraction;
• heavy crude transfer;
• hazardous-waste recovery.

The model is capable of handling solids up to 70 mm according to SupaVac’s published technical information.

This can make it a relevant model to evaluate where sludge contains significant solids or where a larger-volume transfer requirement exists.

Again, the model must be selected from application data rather than tank capacity alone.

Mobile Sludge Recovery with the SV110-V2

Not every cleaning job requires the largest SupaVac.

The SV110-V2 is a mobile air-operated sludge pump designed to transfer heavy sludge with high solids content.

SupaVac publishes:

• capacity up to 32 m³/hr at SG1.0;
• 100 mm suction and discharge;
• solids handling up to 70 mm;
• minimum air requirement around 280 cfm at the stated operating pressure;
• recovery from up to 50 metres and delivery beyond 500 metres under suitable conditions.

The SV110-V2 can therefore be a useful model to evaluate for mobile tank, pit, sump and heavy-sludge work where site access and flexibility matter.

Slops Sumps and Refinery Pits

Not all refinery residue sits inside a storage tank.

Slops, spills and solids-laden waste can collect in:

• sumps;
• pits;
• drains;
• temporary waste areas;
• maintenance containment points.

SupaVac officially includes slops sump cleaning and hazardous-waste recovery among its refinery/oil-and-gas applications.

This broadens the potential use of the equipment beyond periodic tank cleaning.

For refinery maintenance contractors, the value of a mobile solids-handling system can be that it addresses several difficult cleanup duties rather than one fixed process-fluid service.

Why This Matters in Algeria

SONATRACH’s refining network includes major coastal facilities such as Skikda and Arzew, as well as refineries at Algiers, Hassi Messaoud and Adrar.

Takmeel Global is not claiming that any of these facilities currently use SupaVac equipment.

They demonstrate why Algeria represents a logical target market for specialist sludge and solids-transfer equipment:

large-scale refining + petrochemical processing + tankage + maintenance requirements = recurring difficult material-handling duties.

That is a commercially defensible connection.

Air Operation and Hazardous Areas

SupaVac equipment operates using compressed air rather than an electric pump motor.

Several models carry manufacturer-listed ATEX Zone 2 conformity, depending on configuration.

This can be relevant to oil-and-gas environments.

However, “air operated” must not be translated into a claim that a pump is approved for every hazardous location.

Final selection should always verify:

• exact model certification;
• zone classification;
• material;
• operating procedure;
• refinery HSE requirement.

Could SupaVac Replace a Vacuum Truck?

This should be answered carefully.

SupaVac is capable of vacuum recovery and pressure discharge of sludge and solids.

A vacuum truck combines recovery with onboard waste storage and road transportation.

The two systems therefore do not perform exactly the same role.

Where a refinery or cleaning contractor already has a receiving vessel, treatment system, skip or waste-storage arrangement, SupaVac may offer a way of transferring sludge without having to position a vacuum truck immediately beside every extraction point.

The correct economic comparison depends on:

• frequency of cleaning;
• truck mobilisation;
• transfer distance;
• disposal route;
• air availability;
• labour;
• sludge volume.

Takmeel does not recommend claiming that one system universally replaces the other.

What Determines the Correct SupaVac?

Before we recommend a model, Takmeel needs:

Application: tank / pit / sump / slops / spill
Material:
Solids percentage:
Maximum solids size:
Specific gravity:
Viscosity:
Material temperature:
Horizontal suction distance:
Vertical suction lift:
Horizontal discharge distance:
Vertical discharge elevation:
Required transfer rate:
Compressed-air pressure:
Compressor free-air delivery:
Area classification:

These parameters are more valuable than simply requesting “a 4-inch sludge pump.”

SupaVac Refinery Applications in Algeria from Takmeel Global

Takmeel Global supports customers across the GCC and African markets with application-led SupaVac selection.

For Algeria, we see the strongest fit around:

• refinery tank-bottom sludge;
• petrochemical tank cleaning;
• oil sludge recovery;
• slops sump cleaning;
• heavy crude residue;
• hazardous industrial waste.

The objective is not to claim that SupaVac is the right pump for every refinery duty.

It is to identify the difficult sludge and solids-transfer applications where the SupaVac vacuum-loading and pressure-discharge principle provides a technically appropriate option.

If you have an Algeria-based refinery or oilfield sludge application, send Takmeel Global the material and transfer conditions so we can review the requirement.

Takmeel Global General Trading LLC
Dubai, UAE
Mobile: +971 52 692 2575
Office: +971 4 256 4920
Email: info@takmeeltrading.com
Web: www.takmeeltrading.com