We have to start by saying that most storage tanks are commonly used for containing organic and non-organic liquids, vapors and gasses. They are essential part of many industry niches across the market for various purposes.
The idea is to create a storage tank that meets American Petroleum Institute API 650 specification, which is the most crucial factor that will determine its structural integrity and compliance.
You can find bolted steel tanks in various sizes, and they range from 6.5-feet up to 200-feet diameter, and it can go even more for special purposes. They feature inside compartments so that you can maintain the content in case of rupture.
The most common industries where you can find storage tanks are chemical and petrochemical manufacturing, petroleum refining and producing, transfer and storage operations as well as other industries that are producing vapors or liquids.
Different Types of Storage Tanks
We can differentiate a wide array of storage tank types based on shape and their usage. Most of them are above ground.
You will be able to use horizontal tank both below and above ground, while pressure tanks are spherically shaped and horizontally oriented with the idea to maintain structural integrity due to high pressure.
- Containment Basin
This particular type of storage tank is a product that you have to build around the tank, and it comes from concrete or brick. The idea is that lining has to impervious so that you can prevent spills that could contaminate the environment, cause property damage and other harsh issues.
Have in mind that the minimum capacity of basin volume tends to be equal to the capacity of the most massive tank and you have to add the ten percent of other positions as well.
If you wish to prevent emergency issues and spills, you have to create walls from a resistant product that will withstand an immersive amount of pressure.
You have to incorporate the drain valve into his outer side of containment basic and close it to prevent further contamination.
- Fixed Roof Tank
This is one of the most common storage tank designs since it comes with an affordable price tag and you will be able to install it in a matter of hours. It comes with cylindrical shell as well as a dome or cone-shaped roof that will be permanent fixes.
Have in mind that in most cases they are designed and fully welded for vapor and liquid-tight, while other, older models had bolted or riveted construction that was not tight enough when compared with latest models.
The idea is to install a pressure-vacuum valve inside the fixed roof tank so that you can operate at vacuum or internal pressure. The lid can prevent the release of vapors during the changes in barometric pressure, temperature as well as liquid level.
It also contains sample wells or gauge hatches, roof utility holes and floats gauges so that you access it with ease and they are an excellent choice for volatile emissions and other problems that could happen with storage tanks.
You should click here to learn more on storage tanks in overall.
- External Floating Roof Tank
This is another favorite type of storage tanks that features cylindrical steel shell as well as the roof that tends to float on the surface of the stored liquid, and it will fall as the liquid levels go down.
The idea of floating roof features rim seal systems, fittings, and deck. Everything comes from bolted steel plates, and you can find three standard types such as a double deck, pontoon, and pan.
Even though you will be able to find numerous variants of this particular type of storage tank, the trend states that double-deck and pontoon floating roofs are the best.
- Internal Floating Roof Tank
This particular storage tank type features floating roof inside and a permanent fixed roof as well. You can consider two types such as:
- Tanks that feature self-supporting and it doesn’t contain support columns
- Containers in which vertical columns within the tank support the fixed roof altogether.
Have in mind that it is not free of openings, but they are great because they feature the ability to get the permanently fixed roof and the one that floats inside the tank on the contact deck.
The one inside is supported on pontoons a few inches above the surface to create a pressurized environment.
