Storage facilities—tanks

Tank farm areas require additional consideration for spacing not only between other process hazards but from other storage tanks. Minimum shell to shell spacings for storage tanks are provided in NFPA 30. It also includes requirements for minimum spacings from other exposures such as property lines and buildings. 

The provisions for spacings are based on the commodity stored, pressure, temperature, and fire protection measures afforded to each tank. Each parameter adjusts the minimum requirements. For large tanks and those containing crude oil, heated oil, slop oil or emulsion breading materials additional spacing requirements should be considered. These include the following  

A major factor in location of storage tanks within a tank farm is the topography of the tank farm area. The slope of the natural topography can be used to assist in the drainage requirements for a diked area and minimized the accumulation of spilled liquids near a storage tank. Diversion dikes or curbing can be used to divert spillage so it runs off remotely to a safe location. 

The prevailing wind conditions should also be used to the best extent. Where rows of tanks are designed, 

The location of storage tanks to adjoining property or exposures on adjacent exposures should be treated the same as would be case with exposure to or from a refinery process, however the added consideration of public exposure should not be overlooked. 

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Storage facilities Tanks, pressure vessels Steam systems Cooling water systems Offsites Special costs Used equipment credit Contingencies Total... 

The legs of the platform can be used as settling tanks or temporary storage facilities for crude oil where oil is exported via tankers, or to allow production to continue in the event of a pipeline shut down. The Brent D platform in the North Sea weighs more than 200,000 tonnes and can store over a million barrels of oil. Topside modules are either installed offshore by lift barges, or can be positioned before the platform is floated out. 

Hie common acrylic ester monomers are combustible liquids. Commercially, acrylic monomers are shipped with DOT red labels in bulk quantities, tank cars, or tank tmcks. Mild steel is the usual material of choice for the constmction of bulk storage facilities for acrylic monomers. Moisture must be excluded to avoid msting of the tanks and contamination of the monomers. Copper or copper alloys must not be allowed to contact acrylic monomers intended for use in polymerization because copper is an inhibitor (67). 

In addition, restrictions on industrial air emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1977, the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990, and other state and local statutes and regulations have universal impact on the storage of toxic materials, with direct and significant effects on the design and operation of toxic material storage facilities. Whereas the primary factors which once determined how air emissions from storage tanks were handled were fire protection and loss prevention, in recent years environmental protection concerns nearly always determine the extent and nature of the air emission controls required to be installed. 

A fire in a bulk storage facility at Coode Island, Melbourne, Australia, in August 1991 caused extensive damage and many complaints about the pollution caused by the smoke plume, but no injuries. The tank vents were connected together and piped to a carbon bed vapor recovery system. There were no flame arrestors in the pipework. Whatever the cause of the initial fire or explosion, the vent collection system provided a means of spreading the fire from one tank to another. 

A credible spill for Catastrophic Loss Potential. For a catastrophic loss potential, the spill size should be based on the contents of vessels or connected vessel train. The existence of shutoff valves between vessels should not be considered. In addition, the catastrophic failure of major storage tanks should be considered. Leaks in pipelines carrying materials of concern from large-capacity, off-site, remote storage facilities must be considered. For this purpose, it must be assumed that the pipeline is completely severed and that the spill will run for 30 minutes. 

BS W and other tank bottom material from storage facilities that hold product and exempt waste... 

Where storage facilities comprise several tanks, the contents of stand-by tanks may remain unheated. In such cases, the heating facilities should be capable of raising the contents to the required storage temperature as soon as possible from cold. 

The condensed reaction mixture is evaporated in film evaporator 16 under vacuum. The crude l-(2,6-dimethyl)-phenoxy-2-aminopropane hydrochloride is precipitated in tank 17 using HCl dissolved in organic solvent //, separated in centrifuge 18, and dried in tray drier 19. The final purification by crystallization from solvent III occurs in crystallizer M. Pure l-(2,6-dimethyI)-phenoxy-2-amino-propane hydrochloride is separated in centrifuge 21 and dried in tray drier 22. The plant is equipped with typical solvent recovery and storage facilities not shown in the figures. 

If it is expected that a supplier may have a strike, the company may stockpile items. Some needed materials like coal are dumped on a cleared piece of ground. Others may be stored in box cars or tank cars if the present storage facilities are full. This is expensive storage, but it is only a temporary situation. Actually, most chemical plants do not close if the hourly workers strike. The salaried employees run the plant, and the supply of chemicals is not stopped, although it may be reduced. 

Very little information could be identified dealing with -hexane levels in sediments and soils. -Hexane has been identified among the contaminants in an offsite oilfield-disposal pit in New Mexico (Eiceman et al. 1986). Since w-hcxanc is a trace constituent of crude oil and natural gas, as well as a component of refined petroleum products, soil or sediment contamination with -hexane can be expected near oilfield production sites, large soil spills, slush pits and other areas around refineries, and in waste sites where petroleum products or other -hexane-containing wastes had been disposed. Detections would also be likely near many tank storage facilities, pipelines, truck or rail transfer sites, car repair facilities, automobile assembly or storage facilities, and auto and truck fueling facilities (DeLuchi 1993). 

FIGURE 12.1 Photographs of a bulk liquid hydrocarbon storage facility with evidence of frequent overspilling of tanks (A), resulting in seepage along the shoreline (B). 

A 245-acre crude oil refining, processing, and storage facility located adjacent to the site discussed in Section 12.5 is bordered by other refineries and aboveground tank farms, and changed ownership around 1991. The site was initially characterized... 

This technology is applicable to sites with hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, including drill cuttings, oil-contaminated soil around tank batteries and refineries, oil field service and storage facilities, and service stations. 

Shipment and Storage. Liquid sulfur dioxide is commonly shipped in North America using 55- and 90-t tank cars, 20-ton tank trucks, 1-ton cylinders, and 150-lb cylinders. Cylinders made of specified steel are affixed with the green label for nonflammable gases. The DOT classification is Poison Gas, Inhalation Hazard. Purchasers of tank-car quantities are required to have adequate storage facilities for prompt transfer. 

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