Fuel Storage Tanks Research Articles

Analysis of fuel storage tanks under internal deflagrations with different venting technologies: an experimental and numerical study

This study investigates small-scale fuel storage tanks subjected to internal methane-air explosions, focusing on three depressurization technologies using roof ventilation to mitigate overpressure and damage. Tests with low methane-air concentrations were conducted to generate a pseudo-static internal pressure. This approach minimized scale effects and aligned internal pressure frequency with real-scale tank behavior during deflagrations. The first prototype features a tank with a frangible roof activated by localized brittle failure of stitch welds around the roof-to-shell junction. This confirms that stitched weld patterns ensure controlled brittle failure with activation pressure estimated by a simplified equation. The second technology employs a sequential ventilation strategy, starting with a small hinged panel followed by stitch weld failure, managing low to medium-intensity explosions with the small vent alone, and allowing rapid operational recovery. In severe explosions, the hinged door facilitates earlier activation of the frangible roof, reducing the initial pressure rise rate and controlling the roof opening direction. Lastly, the study explores tanks with commercial explosion vent panels as an alternative to traditional frangible roofs, offering a practical solution for retrofitting existing tanks. Each technology enhances safety in fuel storage facilities by effectively managing internal pressures during explosive events.

Risk Assessment of Ammonia Fueled Ships: Consequences on Human Health of Ammonia Releases from Damaged Fuel Storage Tanks

Risk Assessment of Ammonia Fueled Ships: Consequences on Human Health of Ammonia Releases from Damaged Fuel Storage Tanks

PERFORMANCE OF WATER COOLING FOR RADIATION HEAT FLUX FUEL STORAGE TANK

Full-surface fire on fuel storage tank emits high radiation heat transfer. As a fire protection strategy, the water curtain cooling system is activated to reduce the temperature on the adjacent tank surface. Therefore, the present work predicts and analyses the radiation heat flux and the maximum flame temperature of different types of fuels. Further, this analyses the effect of fuel total mass on radiation heat flux and maximum flame temperature and observes the effect of distance between two tanks on radiation heat flux distribution. The relationship between water cooling flow rate and outlet water temperature that absorbed radiation heat flux has been studied. The study has been conducted by using the Consequence modeling software trial version. The modeling setup of the tank is 17 m in height with 65 m inner diameter, and the meteorological data used are 5.4 m/s wind speed with north wind direction at atmospheric pressure in order to imitate the worst-case fire scenario. The results reveal that the gasoline fuel emitted the highest heat flux value of 11.03 kW/m2 and the raw gasoline sample emits the lowest heat flux value of 9.14 kW/m2. Furthermore, the total mass of the fuel shows no effect on the maximum flame temperature of 958.51°C. According to the findings, the critical tank distancing is 36 m and thus the appropriate tank distancing of 40 m is highly recommended by the standard. The result shows that the water cooling rate of 4.1 lpm/m2 is an excellent practice of water cooling to cool down the temperature of the fuel tank which is exposed to radiation heat flux.

Epoxy resin coatings doped with layered double hydroxide for enhanced anti-permeation performance

Excessive permeation from in-service fuel storage tanks at gas stations can lead to serious damage to the environment. Epoxy resin (EP), as a common impermeable coating, its performance may gradually fail due to corrosion and other problems. Layered double hydroxide (LDH), serving as a lamellar inorganic nanofiller, can be incorporated into epoxy resin to improve the anti-permeation properties, while easy agglomeration and poor compatibility of LDH in epoxy resin make the composites difficult to achieve the desired performance. In this work, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) was adopted to connect LDH and epoxy resin from the interfacial enhancement and interlayer regulation points of view. A series of advanced characterizations were applied to analyze the chemical state and morphology of LDH-SDS/EP composite castings. When doped with 3 wt% LDH-SDS, its mass change rate after 28 days of immersion in No.0 diesel fuel was 0.093%, and the flexural strength reached 95.56 MPa, which indicated that the interfacial and interlayer regulation by SDS enhanced anti-permeation performance and effectively alleviated the loss of mechanical properties of the composite coating. Molecular dynamic simulation was further used to reveal the mechanism of enhanced anti-permeation performance by SDS regulation. The results showed that the enhanced anti-permeation performance by SDS regulation could be attributed to the regulated nanofillers of stronger molecular binding with EP matrix and reduced nanofiller/polymer interface. The regulation of LDH can be widely employed to enhance the performance of epoxy resin in extensive applications.

Microcracking resistance of 3D printed fibre composites at cryogenic temperatures

Thermoplastic composites present considerable promise for 3D printing cryogenic fuel storage tanks, offering enhanced recyclability and repairability compared to thermoset composites. However, a significant knowledge gap remains regarding their ability to withstand cryogenic environments without suffering ply cracking, especially the effects of high thermal residual stresses and voids on the microcracking resistance of 3D printed composites. This study investigates the microcracking behaviour of continuous carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites fabricated through extrusion-based 3D printing. Three-point bending tests were conducted to assess the microcracking resistance of the as-printed and heat-treated composites at room and cryogenic temperatures. The results reveal that the nylon-based CFRTP composites printed at room temperature exhibit a remarkable ability to withstand an applied strain of 0.60 % without ply cracking at liquid nitrogen temperature. This performance surpasses that of conventional carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composites, which typically experience ply cracking even at zero applied strain. Some of the microcracks were traced back to manufacturing defects, which could be fused by a post-heat treatment at 180℃ for 60 minutes. Unexpectedly, however, the treatment reduced the ply-cracking strain to 0.40 % at the liquid nitrogen temperature. Computational micromechanical modelling revealed that this unexpected decline in ply-cracking resistance resulted from the increased thermal residual stresses induced by the heat treatment. The findings of this study suggest that 3D-printed thermoplastic composites exhibit robust resistance to microcracking at cryogenic temperatures, making them a promising solution in the quest for sustainable lightweight cryogenic fuel storage solutions.

Enhancing emergency response planning for natech accidents in process operations using functional resonance analysis method (FRAM): A case of fuel storage tank farm

Recent increases in climate-induced natural disasters have amplified the risk of Natech (natural hazard-triggered technological) accidents, particularly in the chemical industry. These emergencies, characterized by their urgency and resource constraints, pose significant challenges for emergency planning. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) offers a systematic approach to enhance emergency response strategies. This study introduces a FRAM-based methodology specifically designed for fuel storage tank farms, structured into four critical stages: understanding, designing, analyzing, and enhancing the response process. It promotes a cycle of continuous improvement. A case study on a seismic Natech incident at a fuel storage facility demonstrates the methodology's effectiveness and its potential to boost the resilience of emergency response systems against Natech challenges.

Techno-Economic Evaluation of Direct Low-Pressure Selective Catalytic Reduction for Boil-Off Gas Treatment Systems of NH3-Fueled Ships

This study proposes a feasible solution for boil-off gas (BOG) treatment to facilitate NH3 fuel use by ocean-going ships, which is currently considered an alternative fuel for ships. Two systems were designed and analyzed for BOG in IMO Type-A NH3 fuel storage tanks for 14,000 TEU container ships. First, BOG lost inside the storage tank minimized economic losses through the onboard re-liquefaction system. The total energy consumed by the system to process NH3 gas generated in the fuel tank at 232.4 kg/h was 51.9 kW, and the specific energy consumption (SEC) was 0.223 kWh/kg. Second, NH3 was supplied to the direct Low-Pressure Selective Catalytic Reduction (LP-SCR) system to treat marine pollutants generated by combustion engines. The feasible design point was determined by calculating the NH3 feed flow rate using three methodologies. The energy consumed by the direct LP-SCR system was 3.89 and 2.39 kW, and the SEC was 0.0144 at 0.0167 kWh/kg at 100% and 25% load, respectively. The feasibility was indicated via economic analysis. Depending on the life cycle cost, the competitiveness of the re-liquefaction system depends on the price of NH3, where a higher price yields a more economical solution. In conclusion, the direct LP-SCR system has a low overall cost because of its low energy consumption when supplying NH3 and its reduced amount of core equipment.

Formation potential of disinfection byproducts during chlorination of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated drinking water

Recent leaks of underground fuel storage tanks in the Pearl Harbor region have led to direct release of un-weathered petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) into drinking water sources, which then directly underwent chlorination disinfection treatment. Since the control of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) traditionally focuses natural organic matters (NOM) from source water and little is known about the interactions between free chlorine and un-weathered PHCs, laboratory chlorination experiments in batch reactors were conducted to determine the formation potential of DBPs during chlorination of PHC-contaminated drinking water. Quantitative analysis of regulated DBPs showed that significant quantities of THM4 (average 3,498 μg/L) and HAA5 (average 355.4 μg/L) compounds were formed as the result of chlorination of un-weathered PHCs. Amongst the regulated DBPs, THM4, which were comprised primarily of chloroform and bromodichloromethane, were more abundant than HAA5. Numerous unregulated DBPs and a large diversity of unidentified potentially halogenated organic compounds were also produced, with the most abundant being 1,1-dichloroacetone, 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane, chloropicrin, dichloroacetonitrile, and trichloracetonitrile. Together, the results demonstrated the DBP formation potential when PHC-contaminated water undergoes chlorination treatment. Further studies are needed to confirm the regulated DBP production and health risks under field relevant conditions.

Machine Learning Approach for the Investigation of Metal Ion Concentration on Distillate Marine Diesel Fuels through Feed Forward Neural Networks

In this work, a set of Feed Forward Neural Networks (FNN) for the estimation of the metal ion concentration of diesel fuels is presented. The dataset vector is obtained through in situ measurements from distillate marine diesel fuel storage tanks all over Greece, in order to reduce the selection bias. It has been demonstrated that the most correlated ions among them are Aluminum (Al), Barium (Ba) and Calcium (Ca). Moreover, the FNN models are the most reliable models to be used for the model construction under discussion. The initial L2 error is relatively small, in the vicinity of 0.3. However, after removing a small dataset that includes 1–2 data points significantly deviating from the model trend, the error is substantially reduced to 0.05, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the model. If this dataset is cleared, the estimated error is substantially reduced to 0.05, enhancing the reliability and accuracy of the model. The correlation between the sum of the concentrations of the model in relation with the Density and Viscosity are, respectively, 0.15 and 0.29 which are characterized as weak.

Emergency Fuel Ordering and Management System for Vehicles

In today’s fast paced world, monitoring systems are necessary to track the changes in the environment for better understanding of current scenarios and predictions thereof. The same is true for fuel tanks in vehicles as well. By keeping strict track of fuel intake and consumption, vehicles can be made more fuel and cost efficient. This can be done using remote monitoring and data collection systems deployed at the site of the fuel storage tank. When an agent starts filling petrol in your bike/car, the flow sensor is activated. Capacitance is used in the suggested IoT gadget to measure the amount of fuel. The driver receives a notification through mobile application when the vehicle's Fuel reaches a low level.

Risks caused by microbiologically influenced corrosion in diesel fuel storage tanks

Risks caused by microbiologically influenced corrosion in diesel fuel storage tanks

Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tank Virtual Crashworthiness Design Exploration for Civil Aircraft

Civil aviation industry is researching for alternative fuel energy sources to substitute current hydrocarbon-based aviation fuels. Carbon free emissions flights could be achieved with fuels like Hydrogen either through combustion or via electricity producing fuel cells. It is of great importance to explore the airframe designs to house Hydrogen in its cryogenic liquified state. The objective of the study herein was to provide a conceptual qualitative analysis related to the crashworthiness behaviour of civil aircraft carrying liquid Hydrogen fuel storage tanks. The design parameters of interest were the storage tank location in the airframe, the structural energy absorption following crash landing scenarios and the structural deformation of the structure surrounding the tanks, penetrating the survival space of the occupants. Several structural design arrangements were proposed and compared. Simulation results indicated that the optimal location for the fuel storage greatly depends on the actual aircraft layout as well as on the future civil aircraft airworthiness requirements that are still under development for that type of fuel energy source.

Feasibility Study of Implementing Vapor Recovery Unit (VRU) To Control Evaporation in Fuel Storage Tanks

The PT X Fuel Terminal stores, stocks, and distributes fuel before it is delivered to end users. Fuel evaporation happens when Pertamax fuel is stored in storage tanks with vacant space when the liquid level drops. Product shrinkage (losses) from working loss is a frequent issue at the PT X gasoline terminal and is manageable with a vapor recovery unit. The entire working loss was determined to be 0.15% of the Pertamax throughput using information on working loss and investment in Vapor Recovery Unit equipment. With the implementation of the Vapor Recovery Unit, Pertamax losses can be controlled by 95%. The calculation results show that the recovery of Pertamax losses increases from IDR 4,755,933,859 to IDR 12,713,598,714 annually. Furthermore, the annual cost of the Vapor Recovery Unit is IDR 1,348,832,832, with an investment of IDR 6,975,719,896.61. The economic feasibility of its implementation was evaluated through investment profitability, the results showed a positive net present value of IDR 25,255,745,786.25, an IRR of 57%, a PI of 4.62, and a payback period of 2 years, 5 months, and 15 days.

NOVEL THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMERS BASED ON PVDF/SKF-32: EFFECT OF COMPOSITION ON TECHNOLOGICAL AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) based on SKF-32 fluorine rubber and polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride content ranges from 30 to 70% relative to rubber) were investigated. The mixes have been produced by using a Brabender-type rotary micromixer. Such thermoplastic elastomers can be an alternative to traditional oil & fuel resistant butadiene-nitrile-based rubbers and can be used in manufacture of sleeves, hoses and tubes for pumping aggressive liquids and gases, wires/cables insulation, fuel storage tanks, valves, etc. Traditional methods of plastics processing can be used to manufacture this materials. It was established that the crystallinity degree increases with the rise of PVDF content. That fact is confirmed by the IR-Fourier spectroscopy data and differential scanning calorimetry. It was shown that the hardness and strength of TPEs increases with the rise of PVDF content. The tensile stress for TPEs containing 50% or more of PVDF are higher than those for conventional oil & fuel resistant rubber IRP 1078. The obtained TPEs possess high resistance against AI-92 grade gasoline, 80% sulfuric acid, 50% sodium hydroxide, and I-40 oil. They also retain their physical and mechanical properties even after three cycles of reprocessing. The TPE with the 1:1 thermoplastic : elastomer ratio, has been vulcanized using a peroxide vulcanizing system at varying concentrations. The dynamic vulcanization is confirmed by a decrease in the swelling degree of the obtained materials in solvents with an increase in the content of the vulcanizing agent. Peroxide dynamic vulcanization has not lead to a significant increase in physical and mechanical parameters, however, it resulted in an increase in chemical resistance of against aggressive solvents.

AVIATION FUEL STOREHOUSE FIRE MODELLING FOR EMERGENCY PLANNING PURPOSES

As a potential source of a major accident, aviation fuel tanks represent a potential source of danger not only for the airport but also for businesses in the vicinity of the airport. Fire is one of the main hazards associated with the operation of fuel storage tanks. Depending on the type of storage tanks, there may be a fire in the tank itself or a fire in the bund. An important factor in an actual fire is the influence of wind, which affects the geometry of the flame and thus the range of heat flux and its impact on other equipment in the vicinity of the fire. Another phenomenon known to occur in industrial fire accidents is the domino effect, where the fire can spread to other equipment and cause more severe damage. From this point of view, a systematic risk analysis is needed, where the procedures known within the SEVESO series of directives can be used. The outputs of the risk analysis and impact calculations of the consequences allow better planning for an effective and safe management of the accident. This article describes the possible consequences of an aviation fuel storage accident at an airport near which manufacturing plants and other infrastructure are located.

The Catalytic Curing Reaction and Mechanical Properties of a New Composite Resin Matrix Material for Rocket Fuel Storage Tanks

In this paper, an equimolar blend of bisphenol A dipropargyl ether and cyanate ester was selected to study the effect of different catalysts on the curing reaction of a bisphenol A dipropargyl ether and cyanate ester blended resin system, and the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the catalytically cured blended resin system were investigated. Acetylacetone salts of transition metals and dibutyl ditin laurate reduced the curing temperature of bisphenol AF-type di cyanate ester, and copper acetylacetonate at a mass fraction of 0.3% significantly reduced the curing temperature of bisphenol AF-type di cyanate ester to less than 473 K. Bisphenol A dipropargyl ether pr-polymerized and equimolarly blended with bisphenol A di cyanate ester and bisphenol E-type di cyanate ester also cured below 473 K under the same conditions. Among the cured compounds of the blended resins of bisphenol A dipropargyl ether with bisphenol AF-type di cyanate ester, bisphenol A-type di cyanate ester and bisphenol E-type di cyanate ester, the blended resins of bisphenol A-type di cyanate ester and bisphenol E-type di cyanate ester have better overall performance. The residual rate of 873 K in air was 38%, and the flexural strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength were 129.4 MPa, 4.3 GPa, and 27.3 kJ·m−2, respectively. This kind of blended resin is expected to be used in the liquid oxygen storage tanks of rockets.

Experimental study of coupling between the burning behaviors of fuel storage tanks and thin fuel pools

Fires frequently result from fuel spills from burning storage tanks and can represent serious hazards. Previous studies have focused primarily on stand-alone pool or storage tank fires. In contrast, this work investigated storage tank fires combined with thin pool fires, focusing on a tank burning together with a pool, an empty tank in a burning pool and a stand-alone pool fire. The fuel pools are thin to be 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 and 20 mm. An emphasis was put on investigating coupled burning between the tank and pool by analyzing flame images, regression rates and heat transfer. A burning storage tank within a pool fire was found to exhibit an abrupt temperature increase of the heated fuel together with an initial increase in the regression rate in the tank followed by rapid stabilization. Following this, the rate greatly increased because of the surrounding pool fire, then decreased gradually but without achieving a quasi-steady state. Compared with a fuel tank in a pool fire, both an empty tank in a pool fire and a stand-alone pool fire showed higher pool regression rates. The results of this study enrich pool fire knowledge and will assist in developing practical fire preventions.

Fire hazard and risk analysis of large fuel storage tank in IOC terminal

Fires and explosions in large oil storage tanks terminal cause significant loss of property and casualties and are always the concern of the world. To have proper understanding and knowledge about tank fires in terminals a detail study has been done considering various factors like safe separation distance, thermal radiation intensity and deluge water requirement. This paper offers the study of fire hazard especially the radiative heat flux absorbed by adjoining storage tanks. Large storage tanks fire has significant amount of energy release and causes strong thermal radiation to the properties and structures nearby. The thermal radiation intensity has been determined by providing safe separation distance recommended by various standards along with its permissible thermal radiation level for adjoining tanks. The calculated amount of mass flow rate of water required ranges in between 0.09 and 0.23 l/m2s which significantly varies from the recommendations of different code. However, by not ensuring required amount of water as a protective measure to safeguard the target tanks will put its integrity in doubt.

Environmental Assessment of Soil and Groundwater Pollution by BTEX Leaching in Valencia Region (Spain)

The impact of hydrocarbon spills in the unsaturated zone is a significant environmental concern, particularly in locations where contamination arises from leaks in underground fuel storage tanks (USTs). This paper presents the outcomes achieved through the utilization of VLEACH, a finite-difference numerical model, to assess the concentrations of organic contaminants in the solid, liquid, and gas phases within the vadose zone. Additionally, it evaluates the mass transfer of pollutants to the aquifer as part of an environmental assessment for the placement of a forthcoming service station. The study encompasses an analysis of 18 scenarios under realistic conditions based on actual field data. These scenarios were constructed, taking into account various factors, including the nature of the leak (one-time or permanent), the depth of the phreatic level, and the soil conditions and properties. The results highlight the potential environmental consequences of a permanent leak as compared to those resulting from a specific accident. The findings further emphasize the substantial influence of soil moisture on transport phenomena within the vadose zone. Variations in soil moisture significantly alter hydraulic conductivity, impact magnitudes, transport velocities, and even the predominant transport mechanism. Consequently, precise delineation of soil moisture becomes a crucial parameter in such simulations. Additionally, it has been observed that each component of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) experiences varying transport velocities through the vadose zone. Benzene, having a greater propensity to concentrate in the liquid and gas phases, exhibits the swiftest movement through the vadose zone. The detection of benzene in aquifers can serve as an indicator of the potential future arrival of the remaining BTEX compounds.

Adsorptive Removal of Emulsified Automobile Fuel from Aqueous Solution

The development of cost-effective technologies for the treatment of water contaminated by petrochemicals is an environmental priority. This issue is of paramount importance for countries like Saudi Arabia owing to its scarce water resources. Of particular concern are automobile fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, that can contaminate water aquifers from leaking underground fuel storage tanks. Owing to the cost-effectiveness of adsorption-based technologies, low-cost high surface-area commercial activated carbon was used for the adsorptive removal of contaminants from the emulsified fuel-contaminated water. Batch equilibrium experiments showed a high efficacy of the adsorbent. Even with small amounts of the adsorbent, a removal efficiency of more than 97% was obtained for both gasoline as well as diesel. Three different well-known batch adsorption isotherm models, namely the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin, were used for describing the experimental data. The best results were obtained using the Freundlich isotherm followed by the Langmuir model. The maximum capacity was found to be 8.3 g gasoline and 9.3 g diesel per gram of the adsorbent at ambient conditions for a neutral contaminated aqueous solution.