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Tank Farm Engineering Design

Content:

To order

  • We specialize in tank farms engineering design
  • We offer the most cost effective solutions
  • We provide safe facility maintenance
  • We guarantee successful expert review undergoing

Tank farm are tanks of one or several types, often united into groups, and used at one enterprise or in a single technological process.

Tank farm are used in various industries that work with liquid raw materials or produce liquid products.

Tank farm engineering design works include:

  • Working out technical design assignment for the tank farm (together with the Customer);
  • Tank farm calculations, master layout development;
  • Construction solutions (drafts of reinforced concrete structures and metal structures);
  • Fire-fighting and alarm systems;
  • Automation of product reception, storage and delivery;
  • Industrial pipelines;
  • Industrial sewage facilities;
  • Environment protection measures;
  • Tank farm gas-balancing systems;
  • Product heating systems and heat insulation of tanks and pipelines;
  • Anticorrosion systems;
  • Designer’s construction supervision.

Technical managers of enterprises, planning tank farm construction, reconstruction or technical upgrading, should consider the following principal requirements to their configuration.

 

Tank farm calculations

  • We analyze the industrial process of the enterprise.
  • We analyze regulatory requirements to production operations.
  • We calculate the needed usable storage capacity of the tank farm.
  • We design in the optimum size of tanks and storage reservoirs for your enterprise.
  • We save rentable production area.

Engineering design of a tank farm, just like that of any other enterprise, should begin with calculating its usable storage capacity. In short, this means calculating the difference between the nominal tank farm capacity and the regulatory requirements to product reception, storage and delivery. In effect, these requirements considerably reduce the usable storage capacity.

That is why it is important to meticulously calculate the tank farm features from the very beginning, to avoid the problem of insufficient storage capacity.

The points of reference at this engineering design stage are:
1. efficiency requirements to tank farms;
2. average figures of product rotation;
3. calculation data for:

  • maximum and minimum allowable tank gauging levels;
  • potential usable storage capacity of tank farm;
  • emergency capacity margin;
  • tank farm capacity margin at specified upper/lower levels;
  • tank farm storage capacity due to legal requirements

Tank groups as components of a tank farm

  • We competently unite tanks in groups.
  • We reduce major construction work expenses by effectively positioning tanks and tank groups.
  • We reduce maintenance expenses during dispensing operations by taking into consideration the ground profile.

Tanks must be allocated in groups. While designing tank farm, it is important to take into consideration the following:

Tanks can be united into groups according to the following criteria:

  • Types of tanks: vertical steel tanks with fixed roof, tanks with floating roof or tanks with piston.
  • The capacity of every tank in the group: less than 50,000 m³ / more than 50,000 m³
  • Types of stored fluids, that are classified by vapor flash point: less or more than 45°С (This criterion is relevant only for vertical steel tanks with fixed roof. Type of stored product plays no role in groping tanks with floating roofs or pistons).
  • The following two key features of tank groups are drawn out of these three criteria
  • It’s maximum storage capacity;
  • Minimum distance between tanks in the group.
Tank type Max. capacity of one tank, m³ Product type Max. capacity of the group, m³ Minimum distance between the tanks within the group
Vertical steel tanks with floating roof  more than 50,000 irrelevant 200’000 30 m
  less than 50,000 irrelevant 120’000 0,5D but less than 30 m
Vertical steel tanks with internal floating roof  50’000 irrelevant 200’000 30 m
  less than 50,000 irrelevant 120’000 0,65D but less than 30 m
Vertical steel tanks with fixed roof  less than 50,000 with vapor flash point more than 45°С 120’000 0,75D but less than 30 m
    with vapor flash point: less than 45°С 80’000  
 **D – outside diameter

Thus, it is vital from the first stages of tank farm engineering design, to determine tanks types and capacities, uniting them in groups to use the area under construction most efficiently.

Requirements to tanks location in relation to neighboring facilities

  • We offer the optimal tanks location on the site.
  • We guarantee compliance with all tanks location regulations.
  • Based on survey results, we offer the most economical option for foundation construction.
  • We use the area under construction most efficiently.
  • The correct facility location will save you the trouble with regulatory authorities.

The strictest requirements, of course, are those, regulating tank farms for storing oil productsand other fire and explosion dangerous substances. 

In each country, there are standards for the minimum distance of the tank farm from neighboring facilities, namely:

  • neighboring enterprises;
  • forests and park belts (depending on wood species);
  • flammable materials depots;
  • railways and motorways;
  • residential and administrative units;
  • gas stations;
  • garages and parking lots;
  • sewage facilities and pumping stations;
  • water filling stations;
  • emergency sumps;
  • explosion dangerous processing units;
  • rivers and other bodies of water.

It is also necessary to consider tanks ground elevation marks in relation to these facilities, along with hydrometeorological conditions of the site. These factors add up requirements to tank farm location.

Requirements to tanks location in relation to one another

There are quite complicated regulatory requirements to engineering design of motor traffic roads among tank groups within the tank farm perimeter. They refer not only to the width, but also to the type of surfacing.

The distance between neighboring tank groups is also regulated. Legal requirements determine the order in which tank rows within the group are located. The number of rows, in turn, adds supplementary requirements to the presence of entrances into the bunding for fire vehicles.

Thus, to design tank farms, the Engineering company should possess considerable working experience in this field, and its specialists should know in detail all regulatory requirements and be able to make the most economically efficient solutions in practice. This is the cornerstone of efficient tank farm (and any other enterprise) maintenance, reducing the construction and maintenance costs, as well as avoiding problems with regulatory agencies. Individual tank design is also possible, wherever needed.

Tank farm bunding engineering

  • We design the optimal bunding layout for tank groups.
  • We reduce earth- and concrete works expenses.
  • We provide environmental compliance.
  • We offer solutions to reduce distances between a bunded tank group and industrial or environmentally important facilities.
  • We plan storm water collection procedures.
  • We work out product-spill recovery procedures

Tank groups are located on a site, bunded all around in a closed chain. The area of the bunding territory and the height of barrier walls are calculated based on the design volume of stored product, that can potentially get spilt. It is considered to be equal to the volume of the largest tank in the group.

Different State Regulations specify the extent to which the barrier walls height should exceed the potential level of spilt product. This figure depends on the volume of the tanks in the group. The wall thickness is calculated with consideration of maximum possible fluid pressure. Bunding territory walls construction should comply with Construction Rules and Regulations.

In addition, if a bunded tank group contains tanks of more than 20,000 m³ volume or groups of smaller tanks of the same total volume, they must also be isolated by earth walls. Tanks with lubricants, oil residue and antiknock petrol are isolated in the same manner.

Engineering design of tank farms includes designing a gravel platform. For newly constructed facilities the ground within the bunding territory should be protected with watertight screen made of plastic film.

Tank farm fire prevention and extinguishing procedures

  • We provide fire regulation compliance while designing every tank farm facility.
  • We develop efficient fire fighting and fire alarm systems with reliable equipment.
  • Upon request, we compile or complement emergency plans and/or oil spill contingency plans.

Tank farms for oil products and other fire and explosion dangerous liquids storage require a number of fire prevention measures to be worked out at the engineering design stage.

Within the area of tank group bunding electric cable passage is not allowed, except the cables that run from current collectors of a tank group to electric equipment drive units located on the tanks. They must be laid underground in galvanized troughs.

All tanks are equipped with separately standing lightning roads. Steel pipelines and other equipment are connected to ground.

Tank farm fire extinguishing system and water cooling system must be designed in compliance with Design and Construction Specifications 155.13130.2014, 8.13130 and 10.13130.

Tank farms, oil refinery plants and other enterprises, storing inflammable products, must have automated fire extinguishing systems for every tank more than 5,000 m³ in volume.

Industrial pipelines engineering design

  • We take into consideration all input data and tasks
  • We provide maximum efficiency of product transfer operations
  • We reduce pipeline construction expenses using less pipelines thanks to process optimization
  • We extend the tanks life by applying the system of tank walls pressure reduction during unloading and loading operations.

Pipelines are designed for acceptance and distribution of stored products, along with supplementary operations like product pump-over, relief of pipeline surge relief system, etc.

Pipeline diameters are chosen by the Project Designer on the basis of required efficiency of acceptance and delivery operations, product viscosity and recommended pumping speed.

The project design features methods of pipeline connection with master valves, tank pipe junctions and load compensators. The pipeline laying method is chosen – above ground or underground, taking into consideration among other things earthquake activity in the construction area. If needed, heating systems, heat insulation and pipeline protection are designed.

When designing tank farms, oil refinery plants and other enterprises, total pipeline emptying by gravity flow must be provided by means of making a pitch in the direction of the pumping-out spot. The pitch is calculated with due regard to product viscosity and its heating system.