Storage, spent sulfuric acid

Event 9 Fire/Explosion—Sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid. Motiva Enterprises, LLC, Delaware City, Delaware (July 17, 2001). Collapse of a spent sulfuric acid storage tank (more than 250,000 gallons) triggered releases from nearby tanks, killed one contract worker, and caused a large fish kill. Other commonly bermed tanks were immersed in concentrated sulfuric acid for several days until they could be drained, but they did not fail ("News Link" Environmental 2008). 

But let me be completely honest. 1 once had a radiation level detector on a spent sulfuric acid tank. 1 was the operating superintendent at this plant, which regenerated sulfuric add. We had a not-so-small fire at this tank. Rather than repair the tank, pumps, and lines, 1 decided to dismantle and haul away the entire mess of steel. After all, 1 had much larger and more modern storage tanks at my disposal. 

Sulfuric acid keeps really well, so it needn t be treated so gently as nitric acid. Light and heat have no real effect on it. It is advisable to cool it down in the freezer before use to cut down on the amount of time which would otherwise have to be spent cooling the ingredients before they are mixed to react. The only important storage tip is for the caps to be kept tightly closed on fuming sulfuric acid so the SOS fumes do not escape into the air. 

According to a USEPA survey, many of the more than 150 separate processes used in petroleum refineries generate large quantities of hazardous wastes. Typical wastes generated from refinery processes include bottom sediments and water from crude storage tanks, spent amines, spent acids and caustics, spent clays, spent glycol, catalyst fines, spent Streford solution and sulfur. 

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