3/2/2017 Storagetanks,Fixedrooftanks,Floatingrooftanks,SphericalStorageVessel(Spheres),Pressuretanks,LNG(LiquefiedNaturalGas)tanks

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IntroductiontoStorageTanks
STORAGETANKS
Storagetankscontainingorganicliquids,nonorganicliquids,vaporsandcanbefoundinmany
industries.MoststoragetanksaredesignedandbuilttotheAmericanPetroleumInstituteAPI650
specification.
Thesetankscanhavedifferentsizes,rangingfrom2to60mdiameterormore.Theyaregenerally
installedinsidecontainmentbasinsinordertocontainspillsincaseofruptureofthetank.
Industrieswherestoragetankscanbefoundare:petroleumproducingandrefining,petrochemical
andchemicalmanufacturing,bulkstorageandtransferoperations,otherindustriesconsumingor
producingliquidsandvapors.

TYPESOFSTORAGETANKS

BASICALLYTHEREAREEIGHTTYPES
OFTANKSUSEDTOSTORELIQUIDS:
1.Fixedrooftanks
2.Externalfloatingrooftanks
3.Internalfloatingrooftanks
4.Domedexternalfloatingrooftanks
5.Horizontaltanks
6.Pressuretanks
7.Variablevaporspacetanks
8.LNG(LiquefiedNaturalGas)tanks

Thefirstfourtanktypesarecylindricalinshapewiththeaxisorientedperpendiculartothesubgrade.
Thesetanksarealmostexclusivelyaboveground.Horizontaltankscanbeusedaboveandbelow
ground.Pressuretanksoftenarehorizontallyorientedandsphericallyshapedtomaintainstructural
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integrityathighpressures.Theyarelocatedaboveground.Variablevaporspacetankscanbe
cylindricalorsphericalinshape.

Primafuel,TankFarm

01 Sewage Tank 03 Custom Storage Tanks

02 Liquid Storage Tanks 04 Oil Storage Tanks

CONTAINMENTBASIN
Acontainmentbasinofaproductshouldbebuiltaroundthetanksaremadeofbrickorconcreteand
theliningshouldbeimpervioustoliquidstoredtopreventspillsthatcancausefire,propertydamage
orcontaminatetheenvironment.Theminimumcapacityofthebasinvolumeshouldbeequaltothe
capacityofthelargesttankplus10%ofthesumofthecapacitiesofothers.Topreventaspillorother
emergencythewallsofthecontainmentbasinmustberesistanttotheproductandmustbeableto
withstandconsiderablepressure.ThedrainValve,whichshouldbeincorporatedintotheoutersideof
thecontainmentbasin,mustbeclosedtopreventpossiblecontaminationtotheenvironment.

FIXEDROOFTANK
Ofcurrentlyusedtankdesigns,thefixedrooftankistheleastexpensivetoconstructandisgenerally
consideredtheminimumacceptableequipmentforstoringliquids.Atypicalfixedrooftankconsistsof
acylindricalsteelshellwithaconeordomeshapedroofthatispermanentlyaffixedtothetankshell.
Storagetanksareusuallyfullyweldedanddesignedforbothliquidandvaportight,whileoldertanks
areoftenhavearivetedorboltedconstructionandarenotvaportight.
ABreatherValve(pressurevacuumValve),whichiscommonlyinstalledonmanyfixedrooftanks,
allowsthetanktooperateataslightinternalpressureorvacuum.

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ThisValvepreventsthereleaseofvaporsduringonlyverysmallchangesintemperature,barometric
pressure,orliquidlevel,theemissionsfromafixedrooftankcanbeappreciable.
Additionally,gaugehatches/samplewells,floatgauges,androofmanholesprovideaccessibilityto
thesetanksandalsoserveaspotentialsourcesofvolatileemissions.

LiftingandhandlingofaStainlesssteelStoragetank

LargerimageliftingandhandlingofaStainlesssteelStoragetank

EXTERNALFLOATINGROOFTANK
Atypicalexternalfloatingrooftankconsistsofanopentoppedcylindricalsteelshellequippedwitha
roofthatfloatsonthesurfaceofthestoredliquid,risingandfallingwiththeliquidlevel.Thefloating
roofiscomprisedofadeck,fittings,andrimsealsystem.Floatingroofdecksareconstructedof
weldedsteelplatesandareofthreegeneraltypes:pan,pontoon,anddoubledeck.
Althoughnumerouspantypedecksarecurrentlyinuse,thepresenttrendistowardpontoonand
doubledecktypefloatingroofs.
Manufacturerssupplyvariousversionsofthesebasictypesoffloatingdecks,whicharetailoredto
emphasizeparticularfeatures,suchasfullliquidcontact,loadcarryingcapacity,roofstability,or
pontoonarrangement.Theliquidsurfaceiscoveredbythefloatingdeck,exceptinthesmallannular
spacebetweenthedeckandtheshellthedeckmaycontacttheliquidorfloatdirectlyabovethe
surfaceonpontoons.
Externalfloatingrooftanksareequippedwitharimsealsystem,whichisattachedtotheroof
perimeterandcontactsthetankwall.Therimsealsystemslidesagainstthetankwallastheroofis
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raisedandlowered.Thefloatingdeckisalsoequippedwithfittingsthatpenetratethedeckandserve
operationalfunctions.Theexternalfloatingroofdesignissuchthatevaporativelossesfromthestored
liquidarelimitedtolossesfromtherimsealsystemanddeckfittings(standingstorageloss)andany
exposedliquidonthetankwalls(withdrawalloss).

INTERNALFLOATINGROOFTANK
Thattankshasboth,apermanentfixedroofandafloatingroofinside.Therearetwobasictypesof
internalfloatingrooftanks:
tanksinwhichthefixedroofissupportedbyverticalcolumnswithinthetank
tankswithaselfsupportingfixedroofandnointernalsupportcolumns
Thefixedroofisnotnecessarilyfreeofopeningsbutdoesspantheentireopenplanareaofthe
vessel.Fixedrooftanksthathavebeenretrofittedtoemployaninternalfloatingroofaretypicallyof
thefirsttype,whileexternalfloatingrooftanksthathavebeenconvertedtoaninternalfloatingroof
tanktypicallyhaveaselfsupportingroof.
Tanksinitiallyconstructedwithbothafixedroofandaninternalfloatingroofmaybeofeithertype.
Aninternalfloatingrooftankhasbothapermanentlyaffixedroofandaroofthatfloatsinsidethetank
ontheliquidsurface(contactdeck)orissupportedonpontoonsseveralinchesabovetheliquid
surface(noncontactdeck).Theinternalfloatingroofrisesandfallswiththeliquidlevel.

DOMEDEXTERNALFLOATINGROOFTANK
Domedexternalfloatingrooftankshavetheheaviertypeofdeckusedinexternalfloatingrooftanks
aswellasafixedroofatthetopoftheshelllikeinternalfloatingrooftanks.Domedexternalfloating
rooftanksusuallyresultfromretrofittinganexternalfloatingrooftankwithafixedroof.
Aswiththeinternalfloatingrooftanks,thefunctionofthefixedroofisnottoactasavaporbarrier,
buttoblockthewind.Thetypeoffixedroofmostcommonlyusedisaselfsupportingaluminum
domeroof,whichisofboltedconstruction.Liketheinternalfloatingrooftanks,thesetanksarefreely
ventedbycirculationventsatthetopofthefixedroof.Thedeckfittingsandrimseals,however,are
basicallyidenticaltothoseonexternalfloatingrooftanks.

HORIZONTALTANK
Horizontaltanksareconstructedforbothabovegroundandundergroundservice.Horizontaltanksare
usuallyconstructedofsteel,steelwithafiberglassoverlay,orfiberglassreinforcedpolyester.
Horizontaltanksaregenerallysmallstoragetanks.
Horizontaltanksareconstructedsuchthatthelengthofthetankisnotgreaterthansixtimesthe
diametertoensurestructuralintegrity.Horizontaltanksareusuallyequippedwithpressurevacuum
vents,gaugehatchesandsamplewells,andmanholestoprovideaccessibilitytothesetanks.In
addition,undergroundtanksmaybecathodicallyprotectedtopreventcorrosionofthetankshell.
Cathodicprotectionisaccomplishedbyplacingsacrificialanodesinthetankthatareconnectedtoan
impressedcurrentsystemorbyusinggalvanicanodesinthetank.However,internalcathodic
protectionisnolongerwidelyusedinthepetroleumindustry,duetocorrosioninhibitorsthatarenow
foundinmostrefinedpetroleumproducts.

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PRESSURETANK

GotoSphericalandCylindricalPressureVessels

VARIABLEVAPORSPACETANK
Variablevaporspacetanksareequippedwithexpandablevaporreservoirstoaccommodatevapor
volumefluctuationsattributabletotemperatureandbarometricpressurechanges.Althoughvariable
vaporspacetanksaresometimesusedindependently,theyarenormallyconnectedtothevapor
spacesofoneormorefixedrooftanks.Thetwomostcommontypesofvariablevaporspacetanksare
lifterrooftanksandflexiblediaphragmtanks.Lifterrooftankshaveatelescopingroofthatfitsloosely
aroundtheoutsideofthemaintankwall.Thespacebetweentheroofandthewallisclosedbyeither
awetseal,whichisatroughfilledwithliquid,oradryseal,whichusesaflexiblecoatedfabric.
Flexiblediaphragmtanksuseflexiblemembranestoprovideexpandablevolume.Theymaybeeither
separategasholderunitsorintegralunitsmountedatopfixedrooftanks.Variablevaporspacetank
lossesoccurduringtankfillingwhenvaporisdisplacedbyliquid.Lossofvaporoccursonlywhenthe
tank'svaporstoragecapacityisexceeded.

LNGSTORAGETANK
AliquefiednaturalgasstoragetankorLNGstoragetankisaspecializedtypeofstoragetankusedfor
thestorageofLiquefiedNaturalGas.LNGstoragetankscanbefoundinground,abovegroundorin
LNGcarriers.ThecommoncharacteristicofLNGStoragetanksistheabilitytostoreLNGatthevery
lowtemperatureof162C.LNGstoragetankshavedoublecontainers,wheretheinnercontainsLNG
andtheoutercontainercontainsinsulationmaterials.Themostcommontanktypeisthefull
containmenttank.Tanksareroughly55m(180ft)highand75mindiameter.
InLNGstoragetanksifLNGvapoursarenotreleased,thepressureandtemperaturewithinthetank
willcontinuetorise.LNGisacryogen,andiskeptinitsliquidstateatverylowtemperatures.The
temperaturewithinthetankwillremainconstantifthepressureiskeptconstantbyallowingtheboil
offgastoescapefromthetank.Thisisknownasautorefrigeration.
Theworld'slargestabovegroundtank(Deliveredin2000)isthe180millionlitersfullcontainment
typeforOsakaGasCo.,Ltd.Theworld'slargesttank(Deliveredin2001)isthe200millionliters
MembranetypeforTohoGasCo.,Ltd..

INTERESTINGARTICLES

Design,Constructionand RimSealstoredpressurefire IntroductiontoLNG.
OperationoftheFloatingRoof protectionsystem.
Tank.

23rdWorldGasConference, AspectsofShell'sapproachto AgooddealoftheMechanics
Amsterdam. storagetankfireprotectionfor ofMaterialscanbeintroduced
thepearlgtlproject. entirely...

Designandconstruction
aspectsofposttensionedlng
storagetanksinEuropeand
Australia.

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