Roxul Industrial Insulation Process - Manual (Page 62)

1. System solutions
Insulation of
st
or
age t
ank
s
1.5 Insulation of storage tanks
The availability of raw materials, fuels and the
storage of end products is critical in almost all
fields of industry. Generally, large tanks are used
for raw materials, fuels and end products. Small
tanks or vessels (see chapter 1.3) are used to
temporarily store semi-finished products.
To conserve the substance and ensure the stability
and safety of the production process, it is
important to keep the temperature inside the tank
between certain temperature limits.
Therefore the industries set high standards for
the conditioning temperature of storage tanks.
We give some examples:
In the food industry, a milk cooling tank is a
large storage tank used to cool and hold milk at
a cold temperature until it can be packed and
transported to the end-users.
Storage facilities for liquefied gasses such as
LNG, operate at very low temperatures down to
-260 °F (-168 °C). Avoid evaporation or
expansion of the liquefied gas, as this can result
into safety problems.
In the petrochemical industry, many storage
facilities operate at high temperatures of 90 °F
to 430 °F (30 °C to 220 °C) to avoid fluids, such
as bitumen, from spoiling or setting. This could
result in problems with pumping or discharging
from the tank.
Conclusion: Insulation of storage tanks is a major
factor in the functionality of storage facilities. It
also serves the following purposes:
Cost savings: Insulation significantly reduces
the heat and the so-called breathing losses of
the substance. The pay-back time for the hot
insulation is, even at lower temperatures [90 °F
(30 °C)], usually less than 1 year, whereas the
lifetime of the insulation may be many years.
Environment: In addition to the cost savings
achieved, reduced heat losses will also lead to
lower CO² emission. Reduced breathing losses
of hazardous substances prevents damage to
our
environment.
Process control: Insulation will prevent tanks
from freezing or being heated by solar
radiation. It will also reduce the cooling of the
stored substance, preventing it from setting and
remaining in a solid form. In both cases
additional heating or cooling may be applicable.
Safety: Fire resistant insulation reduces the risk
of a fire outside the tank igniting a flammable
medium. It is also protection against contact by
minimizing the surface (contact) temperature of
the tank.
Properly designed insulation work mainly depends
on the isometrics and location of the storage tank,
type of fluid and the purpose of the insulation.
Even though the following examples of use are
restricted to hot thermal insulation for outdoor
application, the types of storage tanks used are so
varied that the examples cannot fully take into
account the particular circumstances of each
case. Determine whether the products and
construction described are suitable for the
corresponding application in each individual case.
If in doubt, consult the ROXUL
® Technical Services
Team.
59