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PrestiVac

Vacuum solutions engineered for oil & gas

The industry that made the phrase 'explosion-proof' a household word — and the one where the classification comes from the atmosphere, not the dust. Refineries and petrochemical plants are Class I hazardous locations, where flammable gases and vapors set the requirement and recovery equipment must be rated for that atmosphere. The dust that matters here is narrower and specific: catalyst fines, petroleum coke and spent media.

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  • Class I Rated

    For flammable-vapor atmospheres

  • Vapor-First Hazard

    Gases & vapors set the classification

  • HEPA Filtration

    Catalyst and coke fines retained

  • Built for Refineries

    Catalyst, coke & residue recovery

  • Explosion-Proof

    Manufacturing specialists

  • 1000+

    Vacuums sold worldwide

  • USA

    Designed & manufactured

  • Direct

    Buy from the manufacturer

  • NFPA 660

    ATEX / IECEx principles

Oil & Gas production process explorer

Every stage. Every challenge. The right vacuum solution.

A refinery is a continuous hydrocarbon process punctuated by specific solids — catalysts, coke and spent media — handled inside a flammable-atmosphere environment. Walk the areas where recovery equipment operates, and why its rating matters.

Stage 01 — Crude & distillation areas

The distillation heart of the refinery is a Class I environment; general housekeeping and spill recovery here use equipment rated for the flammable atmosphere, not just for the material collected.

Key challenges

When the atmosphere is the hazard

  • The Atmosphere Is The Hazard

    Refineries are Class I locations — flammable gases and vapors set the classification, so equipment must be rated for the atmosphere itself, a different question from combustible dust.

  • Catalyst Fines

    FCC catalyst, molecular sieves and spent catalyst are fine, sometimes hazardous powders — recovered HEPA-retained and sealed, never with a generic vacuum.

  • Petroleum Coke Dust

    Coking units produce petcoke, a combustible carbon dust that carries both an ignition and a respirable hazard on the handling side.

  • Liquids, Sludge & Residue

    Hydrocarbon liquids and sludges need recovery configured for flammable materials, not the dry-dust assumptions that govern most of the plant's solids.

  • Rated Equipment Only

    In a Class I area, a recovery tool that could spark is itself the hazard — air-operated or rated electric only. PrestiVac's explosion-proof line is UL 1203 Certified for Class I, Group D locations (Cert. ).

  • Turnarounds & Confined Spaces

    Shutdown maintenance concentrates cleanup into rated areas and vessels, where recovery must hold both the atmosphere rating and the confined-space discipline.

Dust & materials knowledge center

What oil & gas facilities recover

Common Oil & Gas materials and recovery approaches
MaterialCombustibleRecovery approachDeep dive
FCC & spent catalyst finesVaries — some hazardousHEPA-retained, sealed recovery in rated areas
Petroleum coke (petcoke)Yes — combustible carbonRated recovery; respirable fraction captured
Molecular sieve & desiccant dustGenerally lowHEPA-retained recovery on change-out
Sulfur & sulfur dustYes — combustibleGrounded, rated recovery
Hydrocarbon liquids & sludgeFlammableWet-capable configuration rated for the area
Spill & general residuePer materialRated recovery inside Class I locations

Combustibility and severity are material- and particle-size-specific — testing and your Dust Hazard Analysis govern. Full directory: the full materials directory.

Applications in oil & gas

Built for performance. Built for compliance.

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Representative case study

Controlling Sulfur Dust in a Specialty Chemical

How a representative chemical compounder runs housekeeping around the most ignition-sensitive common industrial dust — grounding verified before anything else moves, air-operated recovery with zero electrical components, and a disposal path that respects what burning sulfur becomes.

Read the full case study

Talk to the manufacturer

Get the right explosion proof vacuum for your application.

Tell us what you need to vacuum and where. Our technical team will recommend the PrestiVac model best suited to your material, your classification and how hard you will work it — and because we build every unit ourselves, we can modify it to fit.

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  • Legally certified explosion proof
  • Solid stainless steel construction
  • Industry-best 3-year warranty
  • Designed & manufactured in the USA
  • 200+ vacuum versions