A pig trap of this disclosure may include one or more injectors or nozzles located along a sidewall of the barrel and oriented to deliver a jet of fluid toward a back side of a vertical member of a pig or tool. The nozzle may be part of an assembly that includes a longitudinally extending pipe having a flat-profile flange at an inlet end, a curved-profile flange at the nozzle end, and a bend in between the two ends. When the assembly is installed in a sidewall opening of a pig trap, the nozzle delivers a jet of fluid toward the back side of a vertical member of the pig. A leak path may be provided through flanges or formed between the sidewall opening and a periphery of the curved-profile flange. Launch forces of more than 10 to 15 times that of a conventional launcher may be achieved.

A method of managing a fluid flow within a conduit includes determining a presence of a flow blockage within the conduit, the conduit being equipped with an expandable device, controlling an electric actuator to flow a current to the expandable device to expand the expandable device radially, compacting the flow blockage radially along a length of the expandable device to create a channel adjacent the flow blockage, controlling the electric actuator to terminate a flow of the current to the expandable device to collapse the expandable device radially, and exposing the channel to open the conduit to fluid flow.

A tank, such as a fermentation tank, includes a scraper blade assembly slideably coupled to a bottom surface of the tank. The scraper blade assembly includes a blade arranged to displace solids deposited on the bottom surface of the tank out through an aperture arranged flush with the bottom surface of the tank.

A tank, such as a fermentation tank, includes a scraper blade assembly slideably coupled to a bottom surface of the tank. The scraper blade assembly includes a blade arranged to displace solids deposited on the bottom surface of the tank out through an aperture arranged flush with the bottom surface of the tank.

A method of managing a fluid flow within a conduit includes determining a presence of a flow blockage within the conduit, the conduit being equipped with an expandable device, controlling an electric actuator to flow a current to the expandable device to expand the expandable device radially, compacting the flow blockage radially along a length of the expandable device to create a channel adjacent the flow blockage, controlling the electric actuator to terminate a flow of the current to the expandable device to collapse the expandable device radially, and exposing the channel to open the conduit to fluid flow.

A pig trap of this disclosure may include one or more injectors or nozzles located along a sidewall of the barrel and oriented to deliver a jet of fluid toward a back side of a vertical member of a pig or tool. The nozzle may be part of an assembly that includes a longitudinally extending pipe having a flat-profile flange at an inlet end, a curved-profile flange at the nozzle end, and a bend in between the two ends. When the assembly is installed in a sidewall opening of a pig trap, the nozzle delivers a jet of fluid toward the back side of a vertical member of the pig. A leak path may be provided through flanges or formed between the sidewall opening and a periphery of the curved-profile flange. Launch forces of more than 10 to 15 times that of a conventional launcher may be achieved.

A pig trap of this disclosure may include one or more injectors or nozzles located along a sidewall of the barrel and oriented to deliver a jet of fluid toward a back side of a vertical member of a pig or tool. The nozzle may be part of an assembly that includes a longitudinally extending pipe having a flat-profile flange at an inlet end, a curved-profile flange at the nozzle end, and a bend in between the two ends. When the assembly is installed in a sidewall opening of a pig trap, the nozzle delivers a jet of fluid toward the back side of a vertical member of the pig. A leak path may be provided through flanges or formed between the sidewall opening and a periphery of the curved-profile flange. Launch forces of more than 10 to 15 times that of a conventional launcher may be achieved.

A tank, such as a fermentation tank, includes a scraper blade assembly slideably coupled to a bottom surface of the tank. The scraper blade assembly includes a blade arranged to displace solids deposited on the bottom surface of the tank out through an aperture arranged flush with the bottom surface of the tank.

A tank, such as a fermentation tank, includes a scraper blade assembly slideably coupled to a bottom surface of the tank. The scraper blade assembly includes a blade arranged to displace solids deposited on the bottom surface of the tank out through an aperture arranged flush with the bottom surface of the tank.

A pig receiver and methods to operate the pig receiver in pipeline pigging operations. In one embodiment, a pig receiver includes a pig receiver unit, The pig receiver also includes a pig gate valve assembly disposed on the pig receiving unit. The pig gate valve assembly includes a gate valve. The pig gate valve assembly also includes a rod, wherein the gate valve is attached to the rod at a longitudinal end of the gate valve. The pig gate valve assembly further includes a gate housing, wherein the rod is disposed within the gate housing. In addition, the pig gate valve assembly includes a cylinder guide, wherein the cylinder guide extends longitudinally from the gate housing. The pig gate valve assembly also includes a first actuator and a second actuator. The pig receiver also includes a contaminant removal system.