Systems and methods for cleaning elevated open storage tanks

A system for extracting and processing sludge from an elevated open storage tank, the system comprising:

• one or more vacuum generation assemblies, the one or more vacuum generation assemblies including one or more compressors configured to provide a pressurized fluid and one or more vacuum generators each having one or more venturi mechanisms configured to receive the pressurized fluid and generate a vacuum flow using a venturi effect;
• a submersible robot including a water jet configured to receive a pressurized water stream and a suction head configured to receive the vacuum flow generated by the one or more vacuum generation assemblies, the submersible robot being configured to deliver the pressurized water stream via the water jet to fluidize the sludge within the elevated open storage tank, thereby to yield a fluidized sludge, and configured to extract the fluidized sludge from the elevated open storage tank via the suction head;
• and
• one or more sludge processing devices configured to receive and process the fluidized sludge, thereby to yield a recovered water stream and sediment, the recovered water stream being recycled to form at least a portion of the pressurized water stream.