Vacuum loading is a technique that is used to remove liquid waste, particularly toxic or hazardous waste.
Vacuum trucks are built to contain sludge, grease, slime, oily waste, contaminated water, septic waste, leachate, drill water and stormwater.
Some specific types of liquid waste require particularly careful handling and require special trucks that are designed to handle different waste volumes and streams.
How Vacuum Loading Works
Vacuum loading techniques can include positive displacement and liquid ring vacuum pumps.
These are designed to offer the efficient, safe removal of dust, liquids, and solids from confined spaces or deeper pits.
These techniques are useful for removing waste without interfering too much with surface material.
Once the fluids have been sucked into the tank and transported away from the site, they are then emptied from the tank using a hose that is attached to the tank.
The tank is sanitised and the filters are cleaned to ensure that there is no waste build up.
The units all have emergency spill kits, which can be used in the event of an accident.
Operatives are given extensive training to ensure that if an accident does occur, damage to the environment is minimised.
What Fluids Can Be Removed Using Vacuum Loading?
Vacuum Loading can be used to remove:
- Sewage
- Contaminated water
- Grease
- Sludge
- Stormwater
- Slurry
- Drill water
- Other dangerous solutions
Commercial vacuum trucks have a volume of 10 to 55 cubic meters, however, there are smaller versions that can be used for specialised applications and that have tanks that are as small as 500 litres.
The suction pumps lift liquid through pressure, and there are limits to how much they can lift. In theory, when lifting water, the maximum lift is about 10.3 metres.
This becomes greater with more viscous substances because it is possible to mix air into the substance by using a compressor, allowing for higher lifts, up to 15 metres depending on the conditions.
Once the tanker is taken off-site, the liquid can be safely disposed of by using a pressure-out system.
This allows the tanker to be emptied quickly using a smaller outlet.
Sanitation and Hygiene
Vacuum trucks are often used for sanitation systems, to empty septic tanks, latrines, and sewers as well as portable toilets.
The trucks take the waste from those sources to a sewer network or to a wastewater treatment plant.
It is vital that the waste is disposed of properly to prevent public health issues, as the improper disposal of waste can present a serious environmental health hazard.
Construction Work and Contamination
Vacuum trucks can also be useful for exposing buried underground utilities.
The ground is jetted with water, and the vacuum truck will suck up the mud that is produced.
This is an effective way of clearing the mud without causing the kind of damage that might occur if the utilities were exposed through digging.
In areas where it is not clear whether the ground is safe, moving dust, solids and mud in this manner is useful since it ensures that there is no spillage.
If you have a project that requires vacuum loading, please call us today on 0419 577 441 or contact us through our website https://www.pressureworks.com.au/contact/.