Meeting the future of tank cleaning
Well Services Group explains why there is space in the market for conventional cleaning methods as well as reduced or non-person entry alternatives the world of product storage is ever changing with the introduction of new fuels and technology. Yet the methodology to clean a tank or process vessel has stayed relatively unchanged for many years, i.e., transfer of products, de-sludge and process, jet cleaning and surface preparation followed by final inspection. The use of reduced or non-person entry systems and the role for robotics is becoming seen as a credible alternative to conventional cleaning. These systems reduce personnel interfacing […]
Better inspection data means better tank management
Stuart Kenny from Eddyfi explains the benefits of magnetic flux leakage systems for tank floor inspections Aboveground storage tanks are subject to obligatory and periodic inspection routines. Due to the harsh operating environments and the catastrophic impact of failure, storage facilities are governed by regulatory practices to ensure the assets are fit for service. This is a well-established integrity management consideration, and many non-destructive testing (NDT) service companies around the world have adopted similar methodologies for this type of inspection. There are numerous potential damage mechanisms associated with the in-service operation of tank storage, and each risk of failure requires […]
Comprehensive training for the bulk storage industry
A brief history of Reynolds Training Services and an introduction to the training it can provide Reynolds Training services’ mission has always been to create a recognised career pathway for the bulk storage operations sector, achieving this through a ‘blended learning’ approach, not only providing the knowledge, skills and experience, but also ensuring personnel learn how to learn throughout their whole work life. The goal is to achieve this via a range of delivery methods at the company’s own site, on customers’ sites, and online. This takes the decades of expertise offered at Reynolds Training and adds to it the […]
Connecting the port community of Marseille-Fos
2020 Tank Storage Awards winner UMF explains how it has kept a French port operating and resilient throughout the pandemic The Union Maritime et Fluviale de Marseille-Fos, better know as UMF, brings together the maritime transport sector community in the Port of Marseille-Fos in France, comprising 24 trades, 450 companies and 25,000 direct jobs. UMF won the Port Innovation Award at the Tank Storage Awards on 10 March 2020 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. UMF was recognised for its Smart Ports technology – a cargo intelligent system that connects logistics businesses to improve processes, tracking, security and competitiveness. The award acknowledges […]
Keeping workers safe during tank cleaning
Wayne Bergin from Adler and Allan discusses the risks of confined space entry for tank cleaning and the critical compliance measures that keep workers safe from harm A regular tank cleaning regime cuts cross-contamination risks, safeguards key components and detects structural issues that could trigger catastrophic leaks and spills. Without stringent health and safety protocols, however, the processes that extend a tank’s working life could pose significant danger to the specialists undertaking the clean. BACK TO BASICS – WHAT IS A CONFINED SPACE? Great Britain’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines a confined space as ‘a place which is […]
How Shell, Inter Terminals and Repsol avoid odour at the Terminal
Odour emitted from sulphur compounds is a common challenge faced by storage terminals and refineries around the globe IN MANY cases unpleasant odours lead the local authorities to intervene, sometimes by even closing facilities. Shell, InterTerminals and Repsol have all overcome this problem using activated carbon filters, developed by Denmark-based Go4Bunker. The Go4 Tank VOC abatement filter is designed to remove VOCs from the tank ventilation. The filter technology removes 95-98% of all particles in the air phase, before entering the activated carbon design, allowing for a longer life time of activated carbon. The activated carbon RST3 (adsorption) can retain […]
Making tanks, sites and people safer in an earthquake
Will Lomax, Onguard’s MD, explains why its technology is lab-tested and earthquake proven An earthquake at a storage tank site can be devastating. The extent of the damage depends, at least in part, on what and how much is in a given tank. Loss of the contents and the structure are always an economic problem for the owner, and if said contents are toxic, it becomes an environmental and safety issue. Onguard’s managing director Will Lomax has seen the damage firsthand. A 2013 earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale that devastated New Zealand’s wine country started him thinking about […]
Revolutionising valve testing
As a technical advisor on both API 2000 and ISO 28300 Standard Committees, Assentech’s Ewart Cox explains the need for accurate testing and calibration for low pressure and vacuum relief valves UK-BASED Assentech has been developing a lightweight aluminium test bench for its own use for quite a few years. ‘Many of our clients started asking where they could buy such a device so that got us thinking about designing one to offer to end users,’ Cox explains. Testing tank breather vents accurately takes more knowledge and experience than one might expect. The two international standards guiding manufacturers and users […]
Partnerships that deliver
Emco Wheaton partners with Soliflo to deliver loading arms to terminal operator in Ho Chi Minh City A LEADING terminal operator, based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, reached out to Emco Wheaton to assemble, install, commission, and handover two 10” B0030 marine loading arms. With global travel restrictions creating a shortage of available service personnel to complete the project, Emco Wheaton Germany partnered with Soliflo Group, South Africa’s premier liquid control and tanker loading specialists, to work as Emco Wheaton’s on site representatives and execute the project. Emco Wheaton’s B0030 marine loading arm is engineered for maximum safety, efficiency, […]
Dealing with the sticky stuff
Protech-Enterprise’s hydrocarbon recovery technology can turn tank sludge back into valuable product Protech-Enterprise’s Hydrocarbon Recovery (HCR) is designed specifically to convert crude oil sludge back into an on-specification liquid crude. It is a game-changer, in that it can do this without the need for heat, confined space entry by workers, or further processing at the refinery. At present conventional tank cleaning methods require outdated methods such as sending workers inside of a tank to manually clean which can be fatal if there is a failure of safety processes. Other methods such as robotic tank cleaning is safer, but is limited […]
Crude oil fundamentals hint at improving storage incentives
Fabio Kuhn from Vortexa looks at the current market trends 2021 is a fascinating year – in many perspectives. One aspect is that the long-established lead of East of Suez markets in oil demand growth is temporarily broken, as the Atlantic Basin has established itself as the more dynamic market since spring. Peak summer road fuel demand glued well with the structural recovery from the pandemic, boosting crude import requirements into North America and Europe. Meanwhile for Asia, optimism has faded, with one COVID-19 outbreak after another weakening final product demand, while crude imports came under even stronger pressure from […]
Looking back on an odd year
Nunzia Florio of the UK’s Tank Storage Association (TSA) picks out the main points of the TSA’s 2021 Annual Review THE TANK Storage Association (TSA) has recently published its 2021 Annual Review of the UK’s bulk liquid storage sector. Now in its sixth edition, this leading publication continues to serve as a valuable resource for the industry, providing useful insights and data on terminals, process safety, occupational health and safety as well as on the sector’s contribution to the UK economy. The 2021 Review is undoubtedly published against a uniquely challenging background compared to previous editions. As with other segments […]
Decarbonising Europe
FETSA’s Ravi Bhatiani explains the main points of the European Commission’s Fit for 55 package In July 2021, the European Commission released a set of policy measures called the Fit for 55 package. This includes mostly legislative measures to prepare the EU to achieve a 55% reduction (compared to 1990 levels) in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The measures are likely to affect throughput and storage requirements of traditional liquids, particularly those used for transport. The measures are also going to impact how certain products are taxed, such as fuel for shipping and aviation, as well as future fuels such […]
FINDING HER PASSION
Wiko’s Whitney Helbers talks us through her journey from a little girl transfixed by Rotterdam’s industrial lights to selling industrial services to tank companies WHITNEY HELBERS is the first to admit that her interests as a child were not necessarily what might be expected. ‘I was always fascinated by industry. When my parents asked me what I wanted to do, I didn’t choose petting animals at the petting zoo, but going for a drive through the industrial area of Rotterdam when it was dark and the lights and flames were clearly visible. I also loved playing with cars and tools […]
PLAYING THE BORDER GAME
Anthony Catachanas explains why a sustainability fund bought two storage terminals in the US for the cross-border market in Mexico In May 2021, Victory Hill Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities (GSEO), bought two operating storage terminals in Brownsville, Texas, US, for US$61 million (€52 million). The terminals store high-sulphur, more polluting fuels from Mexican refineries, from where they can be transported to modern, efficient refineries in the US, for further refining into low-sulphur, less polluting fuels, such as ultra-low sulphur diesel (USLD), compliant with US and European standards. GSEO’s new terminals then act as a distribution point to ship these cleaner […]
SERVICE, FAMILY, INTEGRITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Colonial Terminals president Ryan Chandler looks back on 100 years of the Colonial Group and what makes it successful On 21 July 1921, Raymond McAllister Demere stood on East Charlton Street in Savannah, Georgia, US, with his first 55-gallon barrel of oil, with a view to supplying fuel to the ‘horseless carriages’ that were rapidly growing in popularity. The young man had returned from the First World War and was seeking to make his way in the world when he hit upon the fuel business idea, and founded the American Oil Company. Two years later, he set up his first […]
Crude oil fundamentals hint at improving storage incentives
2021 is a fascinating year – in many perspectives. One aspect is that the long-established lead of East of Suez markets in oil demand growth is temporarily broken, as the Atlantic Basin has established itself as the more dynamic market since spring. Peak summer road fuel demand glued well with the structural recovery from the pandemic, boosting crude import requirements into North America and Europe. Meanwhile for Asia, optimism has faded, with one COVID 19 outbreak after another weakening final product demand, while crude imports came under even stronger pressure from strategic shifts in China. Amid the double whammy of […]
WELDING INNOVATION HELPS MEET INCREASED STORAGE TANK DEMAND
Saskia Huber looks at the drivers for storage tank demand and how Linde’s advanced PAW welding technology can helpthe global storage tank market, valued at US$12.56 billion (€10.49 billion) in 2019, is set to grow at a rate of 3.85% per year to US$16.87 billion by 20271. This increase is being driven largely by rapid population growth, urbanisation and the ever-greater demands for energy and water. THE OIL AND GAS STORAGE TANK LANDSCAPE The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that the daily demand for crude oil worldwide grew from 96.2 million bbl in 2016 to around 100.6 million bbl in […]
DRIVING TANK MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME RESULTS
Moving from the dark to the light, with RLG’s Pat Stanton The planning, execution, and management of tank maintenance is a major cost-driver for the refining, petrochemical, and terminal storage industries. The reality is that tank maintenance performance in these areas has historically been poor. A systematic and controlled approach to improving tank maintenance team performance is needed to significantly reduce costs, increase tank availability, and improve outage predictability to enhance revenue opportunities. Operators spend millions of dollars each year cleaning, inspecting, and repairing their storage tanks to meet regulatory or operational requirements. Every year, tank maintenance programme leaders are […]
MEETING THE BIOFUEL COMPLIANCE CHALLENGE
Jeff Conroy from Authentix discusses the challenges and possible solutions for the quality assurance and source integrity of renewable biofuels Increased reliance on biofuels to meet mandated greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions is increasing demand. Aside from the impact increased biofuel levels have on the ease of storage of the blends, the efficient running of a combustion engine, and the lower energy density of the blends, there is serious concern regarding sourcing increasing volumes of biocomponents to meet demand. The production of biofuels from non-sustainable sources or energy intensive processes can lead to reduced benefit or even an overall increase in […]
THE REAL REACH OF REMOTELY OPERATED ROBOTICS
Christophe Bordeleau runs through Eddyfi Technologies’ inspection services when it comes to testing, sampling, and data collection activities within storage tanks, the industry has undoubtedly witnessed the trend towards increased productivity offered with robotic solutions. In an age where the ‘by hand or unmanned’ question is being asked more and more with the heightened priority towards worker and environmental safety, the benefits of mobile inspection robots help make the decision easy. When faced with work at heights, within confined spaces, or other hazardous regions encountered at tank terminals, robots present a welcomed safer alternative for routine operations. Eddyfi Technologies, a […]
HYDROGEN AND ELECTROFUELS ENTER THE STAGE
Eva Ravn Nielsen from Ramboll says that the switch to green hydrogen and electrofuels is starting now and will dominate from 2030 and onwards. She looks at storage and production options, and uses On 14 june 2021, the plans for kickstarting the transition from fossil fuels to renewables of all shipping in the Baltic Sea region were announced. The new fuels may be green ammonia, methanol or hydrogen made from water electrolysis and powered by wind energy. The specific project, Bornholm Bunker Hub, aims at establishing infrastructure for fuel storage and bunkering, refurbishing vessels to run on new fuels and […]
THE NEW NORMAL
How BASF is now using both robitics and digitalisation to improve maintenance and inspection THE BASF group is the largest chemical company in the world. The six major segments (chemicals, materials, industrial solutions, surface technologies, nutrition & care, and agricultural solutions) supply a whole range of chemical products and solutions to all kinds of industries. The BASF group has a global manufacturing footprint. The six ‘Verbund sites’ (Nanjing in China, Kuantan in Malaysia, Antwerp in Belgium, Ludwigshafen in Germany, Geismar in the US and Freeport in the US) are the centre of this manufacturing footprint thanks to their high degree […]
USING ROBOTS FOR EASY, ACCURATE, VERTICAL WELDS
Gert Jørgensen from Inrotech tells Tank Storage Magazine about the benefits of using small, mobile crawler robots for large, vertical welds on storage tanks WHAT WERE THE ORIGINS OF INROTECH? We were born out of the shipbuilding industry. Here in Odense in Denmark there was a shipyard owned by Maersk, that was recognised as the most automated shipyard in the world. The founder of Inrotech, Flemming Jørgensen, my brother, was working at the shipyard as a robot consultant. While he was doing that, he got an idea about how to do things differently. Typically, you have a robot sitting […]
INSPECTING IN-SERVICE TANKS
Diakont’s inspection crawler technology provides reliable data and reduces tank downtime to ensure tank integrity A key fact of life for operators of petroleum and petrochemical facilities and terminals with tank storage is performing recurring inspections that assess the integrity of those tanks, determine what maintenance or repair is needed, and confirm that the tanks are suitable to stay in service. These inspections are conducted as a matter of professional prudence, but also to meet underwriting requirements, and to comply with regulations; which often follow an industry code such as API 653 or EEMUA 159. Many of these inspections are […]
TAXONOMY OF HYDROGEN INCIDENTS AND HOW TO DESIGN SAFER PLANTS
Safety expert Laurentiu Zamfirescu explains the importance of risk management during the design process to ensure a robust and safe plant The hydrogen industry, as any new industry, presents risks that are not well known, and costly mistakes due to uncontrolled events can take place. Perhaps the first well known major hydrogen accident is the Hindenburg airship fire that led to the death of 35 passengers. Since then, the general public has associated hydrogen with danger. Implementing lessons learned from accidents is an important tool to be applied during all project lifecycle phases. HYDROGEN’S HAZARDOUS PROPERTIES Hydrogen, under certain conditions, […]
FULL CONTAINMENT LNG TANKS – THE ECONOMICAL CHOICE
A look at the considerations for LNG storage, with American Tank & Vessel and Cashman Preload Cryogenics With global pressure on petroleum storage, it is as important as ever to make good, economic choices in LNG/NGL storage selection. Often, full containment storage systems can support better economics and similar schedules versus single containment or double containment systems. Each job and design case are unique, and the overall system needs to be designed for each project. However, on multiple occasions an outer concrete containment structure is a better economic choice and is quickly becoming the new standard. FEED STUDIES LEAD TO […]
INTEGRATED GEAR BOX FOR SINGLE-FLOW TWIN SCREW PUMPS
A cost-saving alternative to inverter and pole changing motors Germany-based Fristam Pumpen Schaumburg has established a comprehensive portfolio of single-flow twin screw pumps for tank storage and chemical applications under the brand VPS-Pumps. The strong growth of this comparatively new concept is based on the advantages of simple maintenance, low life-cycle costs and high flexibility in terms of a wide speed range. René Linck, product manager for Fristam Pumpen Schaumburg, says: ‘The ability to empty the pipes and tanks (residual discharge) and the constant flow rates with different media and viscosities, make the single-flow twin screw pump a superior technical […]
DIGITALISING FRONTLINE OPERATIONS WITH SMARTFLOW
Smartflow’s Connected Worker platform is changing the way Vopak works Digital transformation is impacting all industries as data collection and exchange are creating new and valuable opportunities. Companies are working on creating a connected and collaborative work environment. More and more businesses are aware of the other risks generated by integrating too many different applications within a system, the lack of standardisation of processes, or disorganised data gathering. All these inefficient processes lead to a lack of business agility, and technology that is not effectively integrated, burdening workers rather than connecting and supporting them. THE CONNECTED WORKER PLATFORM Smartflow […]
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF BULK LIQUID STORAGE
Addison Armstrong from ClearDox looks at new trends in the industry Digitalisation has permeated virtually every sector of the economy, and has changed the way that companies understand inventories, manage supply chains, and utilise resources. Until recently, the bulk liquid storage industry stood out as a notable laggard in this transformation with many companies continuing to use outdated approaches in their day-to-day operations. That has started to change. Tank storage operators, lessees and lenders have struggled with stale inventory data for years. Critical information is typically maintained and updated on complex spreadsheets, a manual process that is slow, error-prone, and […]
INSTANT INVENTORY INSIGHTS, WHEREVER YOU HAPPEN TO BE
Per Skogberg from Emerson explains how mobile software can help to digitally transform operations by enabling immediate access to tank data, from anywhere The ability to instantly access up-to-date critical tank data is essential for an increasing number of job functions in the tank storage and terminals industry. Operations and maintenance personnel, whether in the control room or out in the field, must know the current status of all tanks and have a clear overview of every transfer happening at a facility, to help them take the right action faster. Finance departments need up-to-date inventory data to enable accurate […]
CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN LNG
Poten & Partners’ Global LNG Outlook examines economic drivers for LNG supply and demand over the next 10 years Expectations of strong natural gas demand growth over the next decade – combined with likely short-term strength as the global economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – have scrambled the outlook for project developers and buyers alike. IN QATAR For some suppliers like Qatar, the new landscape offers enough upside to justify large new investments in capacity that remains largely unsold. Qatar Petroleum, the world’s largest LNG supplier is just the latest global energy company to move ahead […]
