Startup BetaTANK Robotics to clean petroleum tanks

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) incubated startup BetaTank Robotics has developed two robotic solutions that can maintain and clean petroleum tanks efficiently.

Speaking about the low-height crude oil robots, Captain D. Chandrasekhar, founder of BetaTANK said, “The crude oil tank robot that we made, I can very proudly say it is the best design in the world today in terms of its features. These are very compact and low-height robots that enable them to pass under the heating coils found in many tanks.”

Apart from cleaning the petroleum tanks, the robots also enhance safety and operational efficiency.

Funding

Robots have a huge application in the oil and natural gas industry, particularly in situations where human entry poses hazardous risks.

The robots developed by BetaTANK help to mitigate such risks and expedite the turnaround time.

“I had planned to make this robot in 1995, when as a ship's officer I was inside ship oil tanks, overseeing some tank operations. A robotic solution was the way to work in such an environment, I believed,” Chandrasekhar added.

He could realize his dream only in 2019 when OIL India Limited offered incubation and financial support to make the robot. The startup India fund 'Startup Nurturing, Enabling and Handholding (SNEH)' of OIL India Limited funded the project.

Not only safer to use, but the robots are also cost-effective and environment friendly, as per the official release of IITG.

The Technology

The robot has a high-capacity pump. Chandrasekhar says, the robot must use pump discharge pressure to move the thick sludge through long distances. Usually, a vacuum truck cannot suck out such thick sludge.

Currently, the robots are undergoing stringent safety inspections to work in IECX/ATEX Zone 0. IECX/ATEX are international certifications for equipment used in an explosive atmosphere.