Industrial & Specialty Services

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Clean Harbors is the only single source, full-service provider to offer comprehensive pigging services and "Smart pig" inspection technology for refinery and plant processes. 

Internal buildup of deposits, which decreases throughput and thermal efficiency, is a common problem for refineries and chemical plants. Clean Harbors provides a safe, fast and environmentally friendly approach to cleaning the interior walls of fired heater tubes and pipelines through our pigging and decoking services. 

Proprietary Processes and Equipment

The closed loop process uses a high volume, low pressure centrifugal pumping system to propel our patented bi-directional pigs through pipes and coils for cleaning. Closed loop pigging minimizes equipment downtime and is more efficient and less damaging to pipes than steam air decoking. All removed material can be contained for disposal or analysis.  

Download Fact Sheet (Pigging and Decoking Services)

The Clean Harbors Difference

• More than a dozen pigging patents, including our patented soft core pig design
• The world’s largest fleet of twin-pump units, available 24/7
• Our “Smart pig” technology, which determines tube wall thickness and identifies potential issues with the coils after a pigging decoke

Clean Harbors provides proprietary Hands Free Technologies that substantially increase cleaning efficiency and accuracy, while reducing safety risk, time and cost.

Utilizing robotics, we eliminate the need for traditional hand-held cleaning methods to minimize employee exposure to hazardous materials, high-pressure systems and work place hazards. Our Hands Free Technologies ensure the precise cleaning you need to get your operations up and running faster.

Hands Free Technologies We Provide

Boiler Tube Cleaner

Our Hands Free Boiler Tube Cleaner system cleans radial tubes found in mud drums of package boilers typically found in chemical and petroleum refining plants without the need for an operator to enter the vessel. Delivering up to 50 pounds (23 kg) of push to clear plugged tubes and travel long distances through multiple bends, our Boiler Tube Cleaner system comes with a water/impact resistant camera system to simplify tube indexing by providing an unobstructed view inside the package boiler mud drum during operations.

Sidewinder™

The proprietary Sidewinder remote-operated automated shotgun for hydro blasting uses a multi-directional, high-pressure water cleaning nozzle. With a maximum allowable working pressure of up to 40,000 PSI with variable GPM flow rates and a total reach of 9.5 feet, the Sidewinder can clean from 84 inches high down to 18 inches below grade. The Sidewinder’s small footprint, portability and maneuverability allow components to be cleaned inside a process unit or at an isolated decontamination area, such as a hydro blast pad.

Cobra™ and Mini Cobra™

The Cobra provides operators with excellent visibility from a fully enclosed cab while protecting them from the line of fire during high-pressure hydro blasting. The Cobra is capable of handling over 500 horsepower to remove the toughest industrial deposits and fouling. The Cobra's hydraulic arm has excellent flexibility and reach and utilizes a precise rotating head. This device reduces the need for scaffolding, resulting in time and cost savings.

The Mini Cobra is a diesel-powered, rubber track-driven hydro blast robot that is perfect for accessing tight work areas. The operator controls the Mini-Cobra’s five axis mechanical arm, high-pressure water flow and vehicle motion from a portable remote control station. It can also be fitted with attachments to perform tasks other than hydro blasting, such as abrasive blasting, hydro excavating and industrial vacuuming.

Viper™

The Viper system gives Clean Harbors the ability to flex lance customer process equipment completely hands free. The Viper attaches to an anti-withdrawal device that securely attaches the flange to the face of the exchanger unit and prevents it from withdrawing during the cleaning process. When activated, the Viper operator remotely fires a high-powered stream of water through a flex hose to clean the entire length of each tube in the exchanger, removing deposits and other buildup from the tube walls.

Rotating Hose Device

The portable Rotating Hose Device (RHD) is used in conjunction with a high-volume pump to clean lines and piping. The system is made up of a portable hydraulic power pack, a rotary union drive and the rotary hose drive. The RHD unit allows the hose to be rotated, as opposed to depending on rotating nozzles. The feed rate and rotation can be controlled for more consistent cleaning, and due to its size, the RHD has the ability to maneuver around several 90-degree bends.

Boiler Botsm℠

Power plants require access to the safest, most innovative resources to stay online and operating at peak levels. The track-mounted Boiler Bot is a compact high-pressure water cleaning technology, that makes the interior cleaning of your boiler's back passes and economizers safer and highly efficient, saving you time and money.

Cyclops™

The Cyclops is one of the most comprehensive tools for boiler cleaning and utilizes a high-temperature camera that accurately inspects the inside of your boiler and other areas of your plant while they are online. Inserted into various observation openings, the Cyclops serves as your “eyes” inside, helping to precisely determine what type of maintenance and the intensity of cleaning is required. Camera images of the inside of your boiler are transmitted back to a monitor for viewing by our team and yours.

Clean Harbors High-Pressure Services utilize the latest automated water blasting equipment to remove unwanted deposits from various process vessels, tanks and lines.

It’s overwhelming to consider all of the equipment—from boilers and condensers to tanks and reactors—​that must be kept clean and free of deposits in order to function properly. Clean Harbors offers a full line of High-Pressure Services for cleaning these items and process equipment of all types. These services include:

• Cold cutting 
• Dry ice blasting 
• Ultrasonic cleaning
• Exchanger cleaning
• Line cleaning
• Vessel and tank cleaning

Our expert staff selects the high pressure technique that’s optimal for each type of equipment and dispose of any resulting wastes. Our decades of experience in chemical cleaning, along with our vast equipment inventory and highly skilled personnel, make Clean Harbors the natural choice for your high-pressure service needs.

We are a market leader in providing innovative technology in the industrial cleaning market, with expanded hands-free automation capability that further improves safety and efficiency. Learn more about our hands-free technologies >

Download Fact Sheet (High-Pressure Services)

With more than 35 years of experience, Clean Harbors has the expertise and equipment to safely perform any Chemical Cleaning projects.

Our staff is highly skilled at planning and formulating chemical solutions for your cleaning project. Whether in the form of liquid, foam, vapor-phasing cascading or circulation, we incorporate the proper chemistry to eliminate deposits and scaling and maintain the integrity of the system being cleaned. You’ll profit from reduced downtime and less process variation.

Chemical Cleaning Treatments

We commonly use the following chemical cleaning treatments:

• Alkaline/solvent wash for hydrocarbon sludge removal from process equipment
• Acid/chelant treatment for scale buildup on the inside of boiler pipes and tubes or cooling water service
• Safe and non-toxic form of enzyme-based cleaning 
• Safe and non-toxic form of enzyme-based, steam-assisted decontamination

In addition to performing the cleaning, Clean Harbors can contain, transport and dispose of all waste generated from the chemical cleaning process. In some cases, generated waste can be conditioned on-site during cleaning to meet your on-site treatment needs. This turnkey approach is unique to Clean Harbors and a major advantage for our Chemical Cleaning clients.

Download Fact Sheet (Chemical Cleaning Services)
Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions

Clean Harbors provides Dewatering and Materials Processing services to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment systems and crude tanks—​while producing a cost benefit to our end customer.

Surface impoundments and storage tanks containing built-up sludge can limit the effectiveness of your wastewater treatment system. Clean Harbors can safely remove and process the sludge and reduce the volume of waste with specialized dewatering and dredging equipment. This process results in improved efficiency of your wastewater treatment system and significant cost savings. 

Download Fact Sheet (Onsite Material Processing Services)

The Clean Harbors Difference

• Cutting-edge dredging and dewatering equipment for precise waste removal and high volume, continuous processing
• Resource recovery through our mobile thermal treatment units
• EH&S support, including the design of vapor control plans to meet air emissions guidelines

Dredging and dewatering may be typical industrial tasks, but Clean Harbors expertise, equipment and turnkey abilities are anything but common.

Clean Harbors Outage and Turnaround specialists provide industrial cleaning during planned or unplanned shutdowns of a process unit or plant to perform maintenance, overhaul and repairs.

Outages and shutdowns disrupt production and affect your bottom line. But Clean Harbors has the manpower, expertise and equipment to get your process or facility back up and running in the shortest possible time, within budget and without incident.

Our Outage and Turnaround Services

• Vacuum services
• Internal pipe inspection
• High pressure services (hydro jetting, hydro blasting, etc.)
• Condenser and heat exchanger tube cleaning (hydro lazing)
• Chemical cleaning
• Pipe cleaning and removal
• Boiler cleaning
• Pigging and decoking
• Waste disposal

Why choose Clean Harbors? We leverage our extensive experience, skilled staff and vast equipment inventory to provide the quickest, safest and most effective outage and turnaround services possible.

Download Fact Sheet (Outage and Turnaround Support Services)

Clean Harbors provides a wide range of industrial, municipal and pipeline Hydro Evacuation (Hydrovac) services.

Manual or mechanical digging methods are labor intensive and potentially damaging to underground utilities. Clean Harbors Hydro Evacuation services provide safer, faster and more precise excavation than traditional methods. 

• Daylighting 
• Trenching 
• Piling and test holes 
• Debris removal 
• Culvert cleanouts 
• Spill and pipeline break cleanup

Clean Harbors has the equipment, personnel and expertise to meet all of your hydro vac needs.

Download Hydro Excavation Brochure (U.S.)
Download Hydro Excavation Brochure (Canada)

Clean Harbors provides liquid or dry vacuuming of industrial materials, drastically reducing clean up time compared to conventional shoveling and loading. We can remove a range of materials from industrial sites, including cement, lime, sands and sludge. Our powerful vacuums can pick up material from up to 1,000 feet away and discharge it into trucks, dumpsters or landfills.

Clean Harbors Liquid/Dry Vacuum Services save time, ensure safety and minimize environmental impact—all of which results in cost savings for our clients.

Download Fact Sheet (Vacuum Truck Services)

Industrial facilities that use hazardous chemicals often face the added burden of operating their own transportation fleet for hauling these materials. Clean Harbors offers a better option—outsourcing chemical transportation to our certified experts. With a vast inventory of chemical hauling equipment, highly-trained operators and extensive experience in hazardous material handling, we have the resources and insight to not only manage your chemical transportation needs but create operational efficiencies. 

Leveraging our investment in infrastructure, Clean Harbors provides significant value to clients. Our wash-out facilities allow for rapid turnaround of hazardous transportation units. Tank farms are strategically located to facilitate timely blending and distribution. And our focus on safety and compliance provides peace of mind as well as reduced liability.

Download Fact Sheet (Chemical Hauling Services)

HPC Industrial is a leader in the industry for Ultrasonic Cleaning Services. Our dedication to technological advancement, sustainability and cost-effectiveness sets us apart from our competitors. We have the expertise and resources necessary to provide comprehensive solutions that will keep any facility running smoothly.

HPC’s Ultrasonic Cleaning can remove various scales and deposits from industrial equipment through immersion in a size-engineered ultrasonic bath. Often combined with low- or high-pressure water cleaning to help rinse away residual chemicals and foulant, ultrasonic cleaning is a powerful technique that helps return heat exchangers and other industrial parts to peak performance.

The ultrasonic cleaning vessel is equipped with ultrasonic transducers that deliver acoustic energy to the equipment surface, pushing away stuck-on deposits, breaking down tough scales and getting right down to the bare metal, removing even the thinnest of films. The chemistry selected for the cleaning process is specially designed to be compatible with the fouling type and the metallurgy of the material, ensuring that we deliver the utmost care to your assets.

Advantages of Ultrasonic Cleaning

• Interstitial areas are easier to reach
• Improved heat-transfer coefficient rates
• Improved volume throughput
• Lower fuel gas consumption resulting in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• Reduction of water consumption by 75% - 95% versus high-pressure water blasting alone 
• Reduced manpower onsite, removing personnel from line of fire
• Reduction in overall turnaround time for traditionally difficult to clean assets
• Ready for NDE inspection after one round of cleaning
   

Targeted Chemistries

Over 25 years of research and development has gone into the creation of our line of proprietary chemistries. The Paratene® chemical product line, trademarked under Clean Harbors, offers several blends that have been tested and proven to be the best in the market for industrial ultrasonic applications.

• Degreasing – Our base chemical blend for removing hydrocarbon deposits has a proven record of removing heavy and light bitumen, asphaltenes, tars, polymers, greases, waxes and other hydrocarbon-based products. Several chemical additives can help boost the application of this blend towards certain foulant types, including pyrophoric iron polysulfides, polyolefins and coked or shellacked materials. 
• Descaling – Our base chemical blend for removing inorganic scales, such as hard water scales and rust, sulphates, carbonates and other acid-soluble materials. This inhibited organic acid blend can also be boosted with specialty additives to help target tougher inorganic foulants where necessary.
• Specialty blends – The Paratene®  line also offers several other ultrasonic-compatible blends that help target specific foulants such as silicates, paint and clear coats, biofilms, and carbonized sugars.
   

Ultrasonic Capabilities

As part of our Ultrasonic Cleaning technology, we offer multiple sizes of ultrasonic vessels geared toward the cleaning of heat exchangers, components or other parts such as valves, fittings, demister pads, flame arrestors and scaffolding. Smaller vessels and parts washers are also available through our sister company, Safety-Kleen. 

Ultrasonic Solutions

Don’t settle for a “one size fits all” approach when it comes to cleaning your facility’s equipment. HPC Industrial offers multiple solutions to help you maintain your equipment and avoid costly shutdowns.

• Mobile Services – Ideal for turnarounds and larger scale projects
• Dedicated Wash Pad Services – We can assist with the conversion of your traditional wash pad to an Ultrasonic Cleaning wash pad
• Offsite Cleaning Facility – Turnkey cleaning services including Ultrasonic Cleaning, high-pressure water blasting, mechanical, inspection, transportation and waste handling

Read more about how HPC Industrial is an industry leader in the white papers, case studies and selected book sections below, written by HPC employees. 

• “The Application of Industrial Scale Ultrasonic Cleaning to Heat Exchangers” B. Kieser, R. Philion, S. Smith, T. McCartney (2011) 
• “Ultrasonic Cleaning of Badly Fouled Compabloc Exchangers” R. Philion, S. Smth, B. Kieser, T. McCartney (2011) 
• “The Effective Removal of FeCO3 Deposits From Critical Process Heat Exchangers Used in Ammonia Production Using a Proprietary Ultrasonic Chemical Cleaning Method” R. Philion, T. McCartney (2013)
• “Ultrasonic Chemical Cleaning: The Development of Chemical Blends for Industrial Applications” R. Shank, T. McCartney, R. Philion (2021) 
• “Chemical Cleaning of Crude Oil Fouling Deposits; Applying the Coke Spectrum” R. Shank, T. McCartney (2022) *Also to Appear in a Special Edition of Heat Transfer Engineering (Aug/Sept 2023) 
• “Simultaneous Effective Removal of Iron Polysulfide and Polyolefin Fouling from Twisted Tube Heat Exchangers in Hydrocracker Process using Ultrasonic Chemical Cleaning” R. Shank, T. McCartney (2022)
• “Technology for Chemical Cleaning of Industrial Equipment, 2nd Edition” W.Frenier (2018) Acknowledgement for Ultrasonic Chemical Cleaning section given to T. McCartney, R. Shank

Download Fact Sheet (Ultrasonic Cleaning Services)

Customer Testimonials

“For every dollar we spend on Ultrasonic Cleaning, we save four dollars in operational and cost efficiencies. We used to have to throw out most of the components as they could not be put back into production. Our capital costs have reduced dramatically.” - Suncor Energy | Fort MacMurray, AB

“We experienced excellent results with cleaning components for off-site repair/overhaul. Third party companies have never seen valves as clean as the ones coming from Scotford. Stainless steel bundles were cleaned better than expected and typically achieved IRIS quality. Bundles with other material composition were generally cleaned to Eddy Current quality. To achieve IRIS spec for these non-stainless items, some were rinsed with a 20Kpsi & rotary lance.” - Shell | Scotford, AB

“We achieved a 27% increase in production of Ammonia after Tech Sonic cleaned our C-109 process train heat exchangers.” - CF Industries | Donaldsonville, LA

“The Refinery decided to test clean four Compabloc units using the new process proposed by Clean Harbors. With the clean Compablocs back in operation, the refinery client captured the throughput and heat transfer data rates to reveal an annual (bpd) recovery of US$4.27M.” - Shell | Sarnia, ON

“We saved over $6M in LPO from the addition 2-4 months in extended run time achieved after Ultrasonically Cleaning our Twisted Tube Heat Exchangers from the HC Reactor. We had to reduce to pressure in the unit upon startup by over 15%. When the exchangers came out of the Ultrasonic vessel, they looked like they had come straight from the manufacturer. With hydroblasting alone we would spend eight days per exchanger but with Ultrasonics each exchanger was done in a shift.” – Marathon | Carson, CA

“The previous clean on our Compabloc exchanger came back with a volume throughput of only 49%, we use Ultrasonic cleaning from Clean Harbors this time and returned out throughput to better than 80%” – Cenovus| Lima, OH

If you are a waste administrator at a coal-fired power generation plant, you know that wet fly ash disposal poses significant challenges, including tightening regulatory requirements, costs, storage capacity, service interruptions and environmental concerns. Clean Harbors can help. As a leading environmental and industrial services provider to the power industry, we are uniquely positioned to provide practical and cost-efficient solutions for ash management.

Clean Harbors offers an innovative, practical and extremely effective solution for ash management that is tailored to the specific needs of fossil fuel plants. Our DryAsh technology is an advanced ash pond solution that can be either a permanent or temporary inline process that converts wet fly ash to a more workable dry state. Best of all, this turnkey solution can be designed, built and installed within approximately six months of contract approval without any plant or unit shutdowns.

An Advanced Solution to Your Ash Pond Challenges

DryAsh is an engineered system of tanks, piping, pumps, hydraulic excavation and separations technologies that will be constructed and housed on your plant’s property. Wet, fly ash will be taken from the plant boiler, re-routed away from the ash lagoon and directed into our system, where it's converted to DryAsh and transported to an on-site landfill or off-site.

DryAsh Provides Benefits Across the Board

The Clean Harbors DryAsh technology is an advanced solution for managing, limiting or even eliminating wet ash waste ponds. This technology offers significant cost savings, maximum operational flexibility and no service interruptions. Specifically, our DryAsh technology and suite of services can help your plant gain benefits such as:

• Cost savings of greater than 50% over more traditional and very expensive capital projects for ash management
• 100% cost recovery using your plant’s current ratemaking and cost recovery structure
• Avoiding service interruptions from retrofitting boilers with mechanical ash handling systems resulting in increased equipment maintenance, outages and shut downs
• Up to 200% greater onsite storage when fly ash is stacked high and dry, versus low and wet
• Regulatory compliance and reduced liability when you use DryAsh to address ash ponds that are old, unlined, unstable and may be leaching contaminants

Customization

Clean Harbors provides custom DryAsh solutions tailored to your plant’s specific needs:

• Custom-engineered system – DryAsh is an end-of-pipe solution with turnkey management, operations and maintenance options
• Variable volume from 50 to > 2,000 BDT/day (bone dry tons/day at the boiler)
• The largest scale separations system in the industry with advanced separations and squeeze membrane technologies
• Redundant reliability
• 65% to 75% solids (by weight), ready-made to transport, stack, sell or store

Re-Source Solutions is a dedicated Clean Harbors team of cross-functional environmental experts who help manufacturing and industrial facilities efficiently manage waste resources and environmental programs. Our team is focused on providing customers with integrated, total-waste-management solutions that draw from several of our operating areas, including hazardous and regulated waste management, industrial waste management, recycling and recovery, and industrial cleaning and maintenance services.

Custom Solutions and Proven Results

The Clean Harbors Re-Source Solutions approach was developed with our customers in mind and its programs are tailored to the specific needs of your organization. We understand that many companies today are standardizing environmental programs in an effort to scale-down supplier networks, reduce costs and maximize their investments in strategic partners. Aggressive environmental performance goals are also pushing organizations toward partners who can help them improve compliance and sustainability performance, including achieving zero landfill status. The depth and breadth of our experience, capabilities and network offers customers a unique solution for managing their diverse environmental programs.