Category Archives: Case Studies

Anchor, Case Studies, Coal Tar, Coal Tar, Viscous Liquids

Sticky, Heavy Coal Tar

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An industrial setup with various pipes, valves, and a mechanical component mounted on a metal surface. A top-head drive pump is interconnected with the red-handled valve and several hoses, while an open cylinder hangs near the bottom. The background features a broad, flat surface under clear skies.
03
Jul

Pneumatics and electrics pump coal tar from 32 feet; recover 11k gal. over 3 yrs.

Thick, viscous, oily and sticky — coal tar tops the list in contaminated site remediation and source recovery when it comes to stubborn and ugly cleanup, especially if there is lots of the stuff.
Because of the difficult nature of coal tar, initial recovery efforts were skimpy and sporadic at the 30-acre Calhoun Park Area Superfund Site in the historic harbor district of Charleston, S.C., until site managers brought in a Blackhawk Anchor Electric piston pump to replace pumps that were performing poorly.

The Anchor was successful in steadily removing sinking DNAPL coal tar, prompting purchase of three additional Blackhawk Anchor Electric and Atlas Pneumatic pumps. Over three years, the Blackhawks pumped more than 11,000 gallons of coal tar from substrate at depths to 32 ft. below grade.

Pneumatics and electrics pump coal tar from 32 feet; recover 11k gal. over 3 yrs. Thick, viscous, oily and sticky liquids.

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Case Studies, DNAPL Recovery and LNAPL Recovery, Electric Pumps, Floating petrochemicals, V-2, Viscous Liquids

Floating Petrochemicals

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Diagram of a vertical cylindrical device labeled from top to bottom with the following parts: Bypass Overflow Intake, Hydrophobic Element Skimmer Intake, Density Float, and Coiled Tube. The components, resembling those in a top-head drive pump, are connected in sequence, forming a long tube-like structure.
03
Jul

PISTON PUMPS REPLACE AIR LIFTS AT DEEP GASOLINE-SPILL PLUME TO RECOVER PRODUCT, NOT WATER

When a large gasoline spill in the Eastern U.S. produced a toxic plume 140 feet below surface, 11 popular-model air-lift pumps were installed in 4-inch-diameter wells to recover the product. But when the pumps brought up groundwater along with the product, the remediation engineer instead specified Blackhawk electric and pneumatic piston pumps.

The Blackhawks proved to be the only pumps that could reach the depth, pump the product without disturbing the formation (emulsification) and provide controlled drawdown and pump rates, according to the staff engineer for the environmental management and consulting engineering company contracted for the cleanup.

Piston pumps replace air lifts at deep gasoline-spill plume to recover product, not water when a large gasoline spill in the eastern u.S. produced a toxic plume.

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Case Studies, ETLF, Landfill Leachate, Side Slope / Directional Wells, Side-slopes at hot site

Side-Slopes Take Over for Crusty Submersibles

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A large cylindrical top-head drive pump lies on its side in an open grassy area. Several pipes extend from the pump, which seems to be disconnected from its original setup. A wooden stake and additional piping are visible nearby. The sky is partly cloudy.
03
Jul

After Hot, Aging Landfill Adds Gas System, Blackhawk Side-Slopes Take Over for Crusty Submersibles

A large, older landfill in a Southern state was baffled by significant changes in its operating characteristics after installing a landfill gas system.

The conscientiously well-run site, opened more than 20 years ago, always has been challenging — extremely harsh, hot and highly volatile. The regional gas manager called it more than a typical landfill, with high variability and breadth in the stream of accepted waste — 40-50 percent trash, 10 percent construction debris, plus significant amounts of industrial waste, bio solids, sludges, solidified liquids, offset products, ash and heavy metals. Industrial waste and fill are used as cover. There is little oxygen and no leachate fingerprint, the manager says.

After Hot, Aging Landfill Adds Gas System, Blackhawk Side-Slopes Take Over for Crusty Submersibles

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Case Studies, Remediation & Recovery, Toxic Chemical Recovery, Toxic recovery

Electric Toxic Recovery

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anchor pumping toxic chemicals
03
Jul

New-model Anchor Electric pump boosts hydrocarbon-removal 17% at old MW chemical plant

Blackhawk Technology’s latest-generation Anchor Electric Piston Pump®, installed to remove toxic hydrocarbons at a former industrial chemical-processing plant in the Midwest, has improved flow rates there by more than 17 percent, according to the project manager.

The new Anchor replaces a sturdy, older Blackhawk electric unit that had been serving for more than 10 years at the site. And although pleased with the long-term results of the older pump, the manager decided to upgrade.

New-model Anchor Electric pump boosts hydrocarbon-removal 17% at old MW chemical plant.

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Bio-Foul, Case Studies, Gas Well Dewatering, Landfill Leachate

No Bio-Foul in Sump

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Close-up view of a groundwater monitoring well installation, featuring a well cap with various pipes, valves, and sensors above ground, including a top-head drive pump. The background includes a grassy landscape, trees, and distant buildings under a clear blue sky.
03
Jul

Pumping the Sump – without the Bio-Fouling

When bio-growth on a competitor’s airlift pump rendered it unusable in a landfill sump at a remarkably clean, state-of-the-art facility in the Northeast, the nationally recognized landfill installed the popular Edge Pneumatic Piston Pump™ from Blackhawk.

Bio-fouling is unacceptable to the ISO-awarded managers of the privately owned 720-acre site, which receives an average 4,750 tons of solid waste a day and is proud of its environmental management system.

Pumping the Sump – without the Bio-Fouling When bio-growth on a competitor’s airlift pump rendered it unusable in a landfill sump at a remarkably clean, state-of-the-art facility.

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Case Studies, Electric Pumps, Solar Pumps

Apollo Solar, Electric Models Pump Through Iowa Winter

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A solar-powered top-head drive pump in a grassy area under a blue sky with scattered clouds. The setup includes a solar panel mounted on a metal frame and connected via hoses and pipes to the pump system anchored in the ground.
03
Jul

More methane, lower risks

Abstract

As the number of landfill gas-collection systems has grown, suboptimal methane production is a significant financial issue for many operators under contract to provide gas. Unrelated but noteworthy is the threat posed to nearby groundwater from fugitive leachate and subsurface gas migration. A third issue is the cost of providing electrical and/or pneumatic power to new or closed landfill cells, particularly at remote sites.

The Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency (Agency), which serves Iowa’s second largest county, determined in 2011 that leachate was negatively impacting gas production. As an ameliorant, contracted engineers suggested reducing liquid levels in gas-collection wells using low-flow pumps and testing the viability of employing solar-powered pumping for efficiency and cost savings. The firm conducted a four-month test at a 30-acre cell at roughly 42º North latitude during the winter of 2011-2012.

As the number of landfill gas-collection systems has grown, suboptimal methane production is a significant financial issue for this farmer.

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Case Studies, Coal Tar, Coal Tar

Sipping Coal Tar, a Cup at Time – Up to Now

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A close-up view of a drilling rig in operation at an oil site highlights the equipment, including a top-head drive pump over a well, a large black storage tank, hoses, and cables. The setup is placed on a plastic tarp with grass and a chain-link fence visible in the background.
03
Jul

For many years, black and thick coal tar has been slowly collecting in a bedrock depression that forms a natural catch basin 50 feet below the grass of a U.S. municipal park. And as the accumulating weight of the underground "pond" is now forcing the tar into ever-smaller fissures of bedrock, the obvious response is to get the gunk out of there ASAP.

Which is exactly what the area utility company, its contracted engineers and the administrators of a mid-sized city want to do. So far it has been slow going; they are employing two top-head-drive piston pumps to pull up a mere cup of tar each, twice an hour. That's a quart in 60 minutes, or only six gallons a day. It takes nine days to fill a 55 gallon drum.

For many years, black and thick coal tar has been slowly collecting in a bedrock depression that forms a natural catch basin 50 feet below the grass of a U.S. manufacturer.

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Case Studies, Gas Well Dewatering, Side Slope / Directional Wells, Side-slopes at hot site, Solars Go Horizontal

Solar Pumps Go Horizontal to Dewater Canyon Wells

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A solar panel is mounted on a metallic frame on a dirt hill. Nearby, a large, green pipe partially buried in the ground is connected to a top-head drive pump in a metal box. A smaller metal cage-like structure on the ground houses electrical equipment.
03
Jul

A West Cast landfill called on Blackhawk's Apollo Solar Piston Pumps™ to dewater remote-site trenches and methane wells in canyons no longer served by electric or pneumatic power.

The closed Class D site includes 6-inch vertical wells to depths of 100 feet with a 1¼-inch gas discharge. More challenging has been dewatering near-horizontal side-slope trenches in the canyons. Some customizing and experimenting with Apollos have been most effective.

In July 2012, the landfill purchased three Apollo units with variable solar charge controls and 180- watt solar panels for dewatering three canyon gas wells. The Apollos successfully dewatered all three wells while running only during daylight hours at roughly 1 gallon per minute.

A West Cast landfill called on Blackhawk’s Apollo Solar Piston Pumps™ to dewater remote-site trenches and methane wells in canyons no longer served by electric.

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Case Studies, Dewater Gas Wells with Solar, Solar Pumps

Solar Apollos Dewater Gas Wells At Old East Coast Superfund Site

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A construction site with solar panels installed on the ground features equipment for water piping, including a top-head drive pump and a control box connected to pipes. A small excavator is in the background. The area is grassy with bare trees in the distance.
03
Jul

Solar Apollos dewatering closed 1955 landfill that still generates smelly gas

Municipalities, counties responsible for thousands of closed sites

Apollo Solar Piston Pumps™ from Blackhawk Technology Company were the choice of a nationally respected engineering firm to remove groundwater and condensate from new gas-extraction wells at an East Coast landfill closed in the late 1970s after being designated a Superfund site.

Counties and municipalities across North America are responsible for thousands of closed landfills, often commissioned before the advent of effective liners. Old landfills can still generate methane, and many have remediation issues for seeping leachate.

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Case Studies, Remediation & Recovery, Steel Plans Tar, Toxic Chemical Recovery, V-2, Viscous Liquids

V-2 Low-Flow Pneumatic Pump Recovers Tar

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Industrial site with machinery and tools. A metal container with hoses and a hydraulic tool, including a top-head drive pump, is in the foreground. A larger tank is situated behind the container, with various pipes and industrial equipment visible in the background.
01
Jul

Aussie steel plant: ‘performed exactly as we hoped’

In 2015, engineers at an Australian steel plant works discovered tar in an environmental-monitoring bore.

As part of the investigation and plan for remediation, the company put in a 2-foot diameter, 12-foot-deep well, topping it with a modified-extended version of Blackhawk’s versatile V-2 Pneumatic Piston Pump™ later in the year.

The engineers decided to link the discharge hose to a skip bin (dumpster), with an overflow hose for ground water return to the well. When filled, the bin is emptied using a vacuum truck. The tar is then taken to the company’s recycling plant.

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