Vinyl chloride tank cars

Liquid polyalurninum chloride is acidic and corrosive to common metals. Suitable materials for constmction of storage and handling facilities include synthetic mbber-lined steel, corrosion resistant fiber glass reinforced plastics (FRP), ceramics, tetrafluoroethylene polymer (PTFE), poly(vinyhdene fluoride) (PVDF), polyethylene, polypropylene, and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVG). Suitable shipping containers include mbber-lined tank tmcks and rail cars for bulk shipment and plastic-lined or aH-plastic dmms and tote bins for smaller quantities. Except for aluminum chlorohydrates, PAG products are shipped as hazardous substances because of their acidity. 

Most of the byproduct HCl is used captively, primarily in oxyhydrochlorination processes for making vinyl chloride and chlorinated solvents or for Mg processing (p, 110), The scale of the industry is enormous for example, 5,2 million tonnes of HCl per annum in the US alone (1993), HCl gas for industrial use can be transmitted without difficult over moderate distances in mild-steel piping or in tank cars or trailers. It is also available in cylinders of varying size down to laboratory scale lecture bottles containing 225 g. Aqueous hydrochloric acid consumption (1993) was 1,57 Mt (100% basis). Price for anhydrous HCl is 330/tonne and for 31,4% aqueous acid 73/tonne (1993) depending on plant location and amount required. 

Vinyl chloride is generally transported via pipeline, and in railroad tank cars and tanker ships. Because hazardous peroxides can form on standing in air, especially in the presence of iron impurides, vinyl chloride should always be handled and transported under an inert atmosphere. 

This was a PVC plant located in an industrial area that had operated for about nine years. Vinyl chloride, a very flammable compressed gas, was received on the site by rail cars and tank trucks and stored in seven large bullet tanks. Five of the bullet tanks were 10 ft. in diameter and 100 ft. long. They were spaced about 10 ft. apart. The two smaller tanks were about two-thirds the volume of size of the others. 

Vinyl chloride is generally transported via pipeline, and in railroad tank cars and tanker ships. Containers of vinyl chloride must be labeled "vinyl chloride," "extremely flammable gas under pressure," and "cancer-suspect agent" (146). Because hazardous peroxides can form on standing in air, especially in the presence of iron impurities, vinyl chloride should be handled and transported under an inert atmosphere. The presence of peroxide from vinyl chloride and air can initiate polymerization of stored vinyl chloride however, stabilizer can be added to prevent polymerization. Inhibitors such as hydroquinone [123-31-9] are often added, particularly when shipping long distances in warmer climates. 

Vinyl chloride may be stored in ordinary steel cylinders, tank cars, and storage tanks. The monomer must be stored under pressure to maintain a liquid state. Vessels are loaded or unloaded by use of inert gas pressure or most commonly by using pumps. 

Alternative 1. A competitor s vinyl-chloride plant, which produces 2 MMM (billion) Ib/yr of vinyl chloride and is located about 100 miles away, might be expanded to produce the required amount, which would be shipped by truck or rail in tank car quantities. In this case, the design team projects the purchase price and designs storage facilities. This might be the simplest solution to provide the monomer required to expand the local PVC plant. 

BLEVEs occur with a certain frequency the substances that can lead to them (butane, propane, vinyl chloride, chlorine, etc.) are relatively common in the industry, as well as the installations in which they can happen (tanks and tank cars). They can have diverse origins, such as runaway reactions and collisions, but the most frequent one is the action of fire on a container. Table 22.1 (Prugh, 1991) shows a list of the most significant BLEVEs that have occurred between 1926 and 1986. As can be seen, most of these involved fatalities. Another source (Londiche and Guillemet, 1991) mentions 900 fatalities and over 9,000 injured in 77 BLEVEs occurring between 1941 and 1990. 

Vinyl chloride is shipped as a liquefied compressed gas in cylinders, single-unit tank cars and TMU (ton multi-unit) tank cars, and in tank trucks and TMU tanks on trucks. For all these types of containers, it is required that all parts of valves and pressure relief devices in contact with the contents of the container must be of a metal or other material (suitably treated if nec-... 

CGA P-10, Standard for Vinyl Chloride Monomer Tank Car Manway Cover and Protective Housing Arrangement and Emergency Safety Kit, ed.. Compressed Gas Association, Inc., 1725 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. 

---