Fixed, Cone Roof Tanks

Fixed (cone, dome or umbrella) roof tanks are the most common and
identifiable bulk storage vessels in the oil & gas industry, typically seen with
a wrap around staircase. They range in sizes up to 30 meters tall by 100
meters wide and are used to store liquids with very high flash points (e.g.
fuel oil, heavy oil, kerosene, diesel oil, water, bitumen, etc.). The addition of
a dome roof reduces environmental emissions and provides additional
strength to allow slightly higher storage pressures than that of atmosphere.
Float and tape tank gauges can be installed at grade on the tank-side or on
the tank roof. Servo, radar and other gauging technologies are installed on
the tank roof. When installed on the tank roof, a gauge is mounted on a
flange that is either permanently affixed to the tank roof or integrated into a
manhole cover.

Punto de inflamabilidad
El punto de inflamabilidad es el conjunto de condiciones de entorno en que
una sustancia combustible inflamable, est en condiciones de iniciar una
combustin si se le aplica una fuente de calor a suficiente temperatura,
llegando al punto de ignicin. La diferencia entre punto de inflamabilidad y
punto de ignicin, es que en el primero, el combustible est en condiciones
de inflamarse, pero le falta el calor de ignicin. Una vez retirada la fuente de
calor externa pueden ocurrir dos cosas: que se mantenga la combustin
iniciada, o que se apague el fuego por si solo.
Si se consideran unas condiciones normales de presin (presin atmosfrica
normal de 101,3 kPa), esas condiciones se reducen a una temperatura
mnima y una proporcin determinada de vapor de combustible en el aire
ambiente, que puede darse en una pequea parte del mismo.
Son importantes tanto la temperatura como la mezcla. De hecho la
temperatura puede ser relativamente baja, la mayora de las veces inferior
a las normales en el ambiente, pero a esa temperatura los combustibles
lquidos empiezan a desprender vapores que, al mezclarse con el oxgeno
del aire u otro comburente, pueden dar las condiciones, para que cualquier
chispa que alcance la temperatura de ignicin necesaria, inicie el fuego.
Entre estas condiciones es fundamental la proporcin de los gases con el
aire y, tanto si la proporcin de gases es escasa, como si es excesiva, no se
producir la ignicin.

La diferencia con el punto de ignicin es que en ese caso se ha producido ya

la inflamacin, es decir, se ha aplicado el calor de ignicin.

Para medir el punto de inflamabilidad se usa el aparato de Pensky-Martens.

Temperatura de inflamabilidad de algunas sustancias:

Combustible temperatura
Alcohol etlico

12 C / 53.6 F

Alcohol metlico

11 C / 51.8 F

Alcohol butlico

38 C / 36.4 F

Gasolina

-40 C / -45.4 F

Nafta de petrleo -2 C / 28.4 F

Queroseno

38 C a 72 C / 100.4 F a 161.6 F

Gasleo

52 C a 96 C / 125.6 F a 204.8 F

Benceno

20 C / 68.0 F

Hexano

-28 C / -18.4F

Tolueno

9 C / 48.2 F

Furfural

62 C / 143.6 F

The flash point of a chemical is the lowest temperature where enough fluid
can evaporate to form a combustible concentration of gas.
The flash point is an indication of how easy a chemical may burn. Materials
with higher flash points are less flammable or hazardous than chemicals
with lower flash points.

burning flames

Some fuels and their flash points at atmospheric pressure are indicated
below:

Fuel

Flash Point

(Farenhait)
Acetaldehyde
Acetone

Benzene

12

Biodiesel

266

-36

Carbon Disulfide

-22

Diesel Fuel (1-D)

100

Diesel Fuel (2-D)

126

Diesel Fuel (4-D)

130

Ethyl Alcohol, Ethanol

63

Fuels Oil No.1

100 - 162

Fuels Oil No.2

126 - 204

Fuels Oil No.4

142 - 240

Fuels Oil No.5 Lite 156 - 336

Fuels Oil No.5 Heavy
Fuels Oil No.6

160 - 250

150

Gasoline

-45

Gear oil

375 - 580

Iso-Butane

-117

Iso-Pentane less than -60

Iso-Octane

10

Jet fuel (A/A-1)

Kerosene

100 - 150

100 - 162

Methyl Alcohol

52

Motor oil

420 - 485

n-Butane

-76

n-Pentane

less than -40

n-Hexane

-7

n-Heptane

25

n-Octane

56

Naphthalene174
NeoHexane -54
Propane

-156

Styrene

90

Toluene

40

Xylene

63

Floating roof tanks (as compared to fixed roofs) Pros and Cons

Floating roof tanks are advantageous, compared to fixed roof tanks, as it

prevents vapour emissions (that are highly combustible) that help eliminate
the chances of fire or an internal tank explosion. They are usually used for
stable liquids (with no dynamic loads acting, as discussed later). However,
adverse environmental conditions could affect floating roofs as
accumulation of snow and rain water could result in roof submersing in the
stored liquid. Nonetheless this static load can be incorporated in making
assumptions on the response of the roof, which can be further used in the
design of the tank with a significant factor of safety. An area of concern,
although, is the dynamic loads that act upon the roof due to constant
splashing of water or leaks that result in flooding of roof compartments. This
could be partly corrected by having sufficient stiffness in the circumferential
direction at the roof, but due to the irregular nature of such loads, it may not
be possible to accurately predict its magnitude.

Also, while the liquid exits the tank, the floating roof steadily approaches the
bottom leaving behind a wet shell (liquid droplets that are left behind as the
level drops). This results in the evaporation of liquid droplets to the
atmosphere and is termed as the withdrawal loss, a form of emissions
similar to hydrocarbon leaving the fixed roof tanks. A flawless rim seal
(closure between the roof and the shell) could impede the loss of liquid but
most seals have a loss factor associated to them that is calculated based on
tank diameter and wind blowing over the tank.

Another alternative to external floating roofs is an internal roof that

combines the concept of conical fixed roof tanks that lie on top of pontoons.
They too are affected by the withdrawal and storage losses that are
mitigated using similar means. Most recently, engineers have been
designing floating roof tanks with secondary seals to mitigate such
emissions and prevent any seal friction caused by using tighter seals (a
simpler solution to prevent any vapours to exist)

Fixed roof tanks storage

During the process of storing crude oil, light hydrocarbons such as natural
gas liquids, volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants and some
inert gases, vaporize and collect between the liquid level and the fixed roof
tanks. As the liquid level in the tank varies, these gases slowly release out
to the atmosphere. A solution to prevent this from occurring is by installing
vapour recovery units. These units capture the BTU-rich units for sale or use
it onsite as fuel.

Another solution could be the use of foam chambers. These are designed to
cover flammable hydrocarbon or water miscible liquids with low expansion
foam or fire extinguishment or vapour suppression. The foam occupies the
vacant space that was initially filled with air, one of the main sources of
combustion, to prevent any potential hazards. They have the advantage
over ground based monitors of directing all their foam directly onto the
flammable liquid surface regardless of weather conditions.

The foam generator made foam by introducing air into a foam solution
stream that was delivered to the top pourer system (TPS) in a variety of
ways. The inlet of the TPS is fitted with a venturi jet designed to draw air
into the stream through a series of holes located around the foam generator.
The foam solution is obtained from mobile foam proportioning equipment
located far away from the tank and routed back to it through pipelines.

The governing rules for the placement, construction, materials,

inspection and fireprotection for diesel fuel and the storage of
almost all other similar liquids is the NFPA Standard #30

Capacidad de tanque
There are no standards regarding "spare capacity" they are completely
dependent on local needs, commercial strategy, company policy etc., etc.

Some of the things we consider is:

01. Most important, and most frequently overlooked factor for reliable
system operation: settling time at least 24 h, preferred 48/72 h - ALWAYS
USE FLOATING SUCTION.

02. Volume loss due to water condensation (bottom drains): typically the
bottom 30 in (760 mm) of the tank are unusable. May be higher in high
humidity locations (above 70%)

03. Is tank heating needed due to ambient conditions? add another 30 in

(760 mm) on top of the water condensation allowance

04. Cycle frequency (start/stops) vs. tank refill opportunity: if the cycle is
operated once a week and the fuel is brought in by barge/truck once a
month: need fuel enough for 4 starts/stops with some additional capacity.

05. Operational experience: how frequent are the trips? how frequent are
failed starts? Need to add to the start frequency

06. Light diesel oil might be needed for shutdown as well to avoid having all
the fuel passages blocked after cool down. Need to know the normal
shutdown sequence as well

07. Refill supply: how often and how secure is it? Commercial decision: how
many days of normal operation must be guaranteed without primary fuel?
08. How critical is the service? are the penalties associated with not running
or not being able to start higher than the extra fuel storage capacity? What
if there is a problem with the tank (e.g. suction is damaged) what are the
project requirements for redundancy of critical equipment?

09. Is there a re-circulation line? might need an external cooling system

10. Are there any space (including spill basin volume) constraints?

11. The consideration of the factors above vs. the budget and customer
specifications may dictate the need to supply two smaller tanks instead one
big one. The added flexibility, availability, reliability and maintainability
(FRAM) will exceed by far the situation with just one tank.
Note: settling time is so important that this factor combined with starting
frequency alone may dictate the need for redundant tanks.

Density - -

Specific Volume - v

Fuel
(kg/m3)

(lb/ft3)

(m3/1000 kg)

Anthracite

720 - 850

45 - 53

1.2 - 1.4

Bituminous coal

690 - 800

43 - 50

1.2 - 1.5

Butane (gas)

2.5

Charcoal, hard wood

149

9.3

6.7

Charcoal, soft wood

216

13.5

4.6

Coke

375 - 500

23.5 - 31

2.0 - 2.7

Diesel 1D

54.6

Diesel 2D

53

Diesel 4D

59.9

Gas oil

835

52

1.2

(ft3

Density - -

Specific Volume - v

Fuel
(kg/m3)

(lb/ft3)

Gasoline

44.9

Fuel Oil No.1

54.6

Fuel Oil No.2

57.4

(m3/1000 kg)

(ft3

Heavy fuel oil

930

58

1.1

Kerosene

790

49.9

1.3

Natural gas (gas)

0.7 - 0.9

Peat

310 - 400

19.5 - 25

2.5 - 3.2

Propane (gas)

1.7

Wood

360 - 385

22.5 - 24

2.5 - 2.8