Storage tanks for oil and petroleum products: classification, varieties, sizes

At modern refineries and fuel enterprises, special tanks for storing oil and oil products are actively used. These containers provide quantitative and qualitative safety. After reading this article, you will learn about the existing varieties of such repositories.

tanks for storing oil and oil products

Classification of storage tanks for oil and oil products

Depending on the location, all currently existing tanks can be divided into:

  • underwater;
  • underground;
  • ground.

In addition, depending on the material used for the production of containers, they can be classified into synthetic, reinforced concrete and metal. The most demanded of all the above categories are considered to be ground and underground metal tanks for storing oil and oil products (photo will be attached below). These tanks, resistant to chemical and corrosive effects, must be tight enough to ensure product safety.

tanks for storing oil and oil products gost

How are such containers arranged?

All such storages must have a bottom, a hull and a roof. In addition, the tanks are additionally equipped with marching stairs, manholes for various purposes, fences, racks, stiffeners and other elements. Most of the small tanks, the volume of which does not exceed 50 cubic meters, are produced in the factory. Already in the process of installation they are understaffed with the necessary operational equipment.

The remaining reservoirs for storing oil and oil products, the dimensions of which do not allow them to be transported assembled, are delivered to the installation site in the form of separate finished elements (prefabricated) or in rolls with missing mounting parts. This category includes vertical metal containers, the volume of which is up to 100 thousand cubic meters.

It is impossible to ignore the roof of such vaults. The construction of tanks for storing oil and oil products involves the installation of a floating, breathing or stationary roof. In the process of choosing this most important element, it is necessary to take into account not only the volume of the tank, but also the features of the product stored in it, as well as the climatic conditions of the area in which it will be installed.

classification of storage tanks for oil and oil products

Steel vertical tanks for storing oil and oil products

GOST 31385-2008 establishes the basic requirements for the design, manufacture, installation and testing of such containers. Vertical storages are characterized by the greatest capacity in comparison with other analogs. The volume of such tanks varies between 400-50,000 cubic meters. To form their walls, a special sheet steel with sheet or roll arrangement is used. The necessary degree of rigidity of the finished structure is achieved due to the presence of stiffeners. Several types of roofs are suitable for such storages, including pontoon, floating, spherical, conical and flat.

Among other things, such tanks for storing oil and oil products are additionally equipped with receiving and distributing pipes, several valves and auxiliary hatches. To reduce the loss of oil products due to evaporation, storage facilities are made of heat-insulating materials.

storage tanks for oil and oil products photo

The main features of horizontal tanks

Such tanks for storing oil and oil products are less capacious. They can be installed on the ground or on special concrete supports. In addition, they are allowed to dig into the ground to a depth of not more than 1.2 meters.

Quite often, such containers are used not only for storage, but also for transporting oil over considerable distances. For transportation, tanks are installed on special railway platforms. Such storages are made of steel sheets joined by welding seams. Such containers have a cylindrical, conical or flat bottom. In addition, they are equipped with nozzles for dispensing, filler necks, inspection windows and valves.

construction of tanks for storing oil and oil products

Plastic containers: is this possible?

Relatively recently appeared plastic tanks for storing oil and oil products. They have a square shape, greatly facilitating the transportation process, and are characterized by low capacity. This is due to the low strength of the walls, for the manufacture of which a special kind of plastic is used. The volume of such storages does not exceed five cubic meters, so they are unsuitable for use on an industrial scale. To give the walls greater strength, they are reinforced from the outside. Such containers are equipped only with pressure valves, nozzles for dispensing and necks for filling. The lack of need for viewing windows is explained by the fact that light translucent plastic is used for the production of such storages.

storage tanks for oil and oil products sizes

Structural Features of Underground Tanks

Double-walled underground tanks are used for storage and delivery of fuel and lubricants. The maximum durability and reliability of such tanks are ensured due to the fact that the space formed between the outer and inner walls is filled with a liquid having a lower density than that of stored substances. To prevent the possible occurrence of air congestion, the tanks are equipped with breathing valves. The outer walls of the tank are coated with a two-component polyurethane dielectric anti-corrosion paint.

Steel double-walled underground tanks comply with all generally accepted standards, therefore, for many decades they have been actively used to store liquids that can harm groundwater.

What containers for storing petroleum products are used at modern gas stations?

Almost all gas stations are equipped with steel tanks for storing fuel materials. The tanks themselves can be located both above and below ground. One of the most important problems that concern the management of all modern gas stations is the issue of minimizing losses during the storage of fuel. Most of the losses occur due to evaporation, which largely depends on the design features of the containers and the temperature in them. That is why today, more and more often, at gas stations, you can see underground storage facilities providing a more stable temperature regime and allowing to minimize fuel evaporation. The use of such tanks not only improves financial performance, but also has a beneficial effect on the environmental situation in the area adjacent to the gas station.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/C23870/


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