Case Study: Frac Tank Remote Wastewater Level Monitoring
Background
A waste management company supplying frac tanks for bulk wastewater storage, hauling and disposal needed a reliable way to remotely monitor tank levels at an industrial poultry processing facility. The tank was installed at the customers’ site and collected wastewater directly from meat processing operations.
The wastewater presented several challenges for continuous level monitoring, including high temperatures up to 90°C (194°F) and the presence of fats, oils and grease that can cause build-up. Traditional contact level sensors were not ideal due to the maintenance of cleaning, while most non-contact level technologies struggled with the high temperatures and steam.
Figure 1: Installation of the remote ultrasonic level sensor installed in a vented standpipe on a frac tank.
Solution
A remote ultrasonic level sensor from ABM (Fig. 1) was selected to provide reliable, non-contact continuous level measurement. The sensor was customized to meet the demands of the challenging application, including:
- Specialized high temperature ultrasonic transducer to withstand up to 130°C (266°F)
- Built-in cellular modem for remote monitoring, high level alarms and alerts via email
- Battery powered operation enabling a fully wireless operation
- Standpipe installation with special non-stick coating and vent system (Fig. 2) to prevent build-up, condensation and steam
This installation approach allowed the ultrasonic sensor to operate reliably and without maintenance, despite the high temperatures and challenging process conditions.
Results
The waste management company now has a reliable, maintenance-free monitoring solution for the frac tank installation. With real-time remote monitoring and automated email alerts, they can efficiently schedule tank hauling and removal while avoiding overflow risk. The solution has saved time and costs by eliminating the need for manual checks.
Figure 2: Installation of the remote ultrasonic level sensor and the level graph before and after the new pipe coating and vent system are applied.