3 Critical Reasons for Dewatering Hydrocarbon Products Storage Tanks
1. Dewatering hydrocarbon product storage tanks prevents microbial growth
Accumulation of water within the fuel tank creates fertile conditions for microbial growth at the fuel-water interface near the bottom of the tank.
Microbes create thick mats known as biomass or diesel-bug and coat storage tank walls.They feed on thehydrocarbons in the fuel and cause low quality, degrade products. If left untreated, the fuel stored will remain reliable for only 6–12 months.
2. Dewatering hydrocarbon product storage tanks prevents corrosion
Accumulated water within the fuel tank causes corrosion. Over time, and without proper maintenance, corrosion damages the storage tank. Corrosion damage requires considerable effort and funds to rectify. The cost of taking a tank out of service to replace corroded sections, including the repair work itself, can be very excessive.
3. Dewatering hydrocarbon product storage tanks prevents inaccurate measuring results
Level measurement plays an important role for the operation of both refineries and terminals in the oil industry. Measuring the hydrocarbon product level in a storage tank is necessary for inventory control and effective tank operation. When water accumulates and occupies a fair amount of storage space, the amount of product storage space left, is reduced.
Unfortunately, measuring hydrocarbon product-level by traditional equipment is not be accurate due to the emulsion layer. The interface of the hydrocarbon product with water gathered at the bottom of the storage tank, in most cases, is relatively wide and not well defined. This makes it difficult for traditional measuring equipment to get an accurate, precise result of the exact net amount of hydrocarbon product in the storage tank.
The importance of dewatering hydrocarbon products' storage tanks is well known with Operations Supervisors, environmental Engineers, and off-site Designers, particularly in the EU and U.S. Countries. And yet, even in the 21st century, the removal of water from storage tanks is a problem still largely solved manually, by Operators opening the drain valve and closing it when they see the appearance of hydrocarbon product in the water. Manual draining of water from storage tanksis quite inaccurate and cumbersome. It may cause serious damage to the storage tank the hydrocarbon product stored inside, if not done frequently enough.
Furthermore, manual draining poses many complications and inaccuracies, which may result product loss of estimated value of 30,000 USD per tank, per year. However, this substantial loss could be avoided by using Eco-Valves' automated TOO valve for efficient and safe draining of water from hydrocarbon products' storage tanks.
The most common need in the oil industry is a safe, healthy and clean solution for removing water from petroleum products' storage tanks.
Draining of water gathered at the bottom of hydrocarbon product tanks is an on-going problem in the oil industry. Water accumulates in a storage tank mainly due to condensation caused by fuel temperature swings, or rainwater accumulated on floating roofs, and also as a result of the refining process. Certain fuels are also more prone to moisture attraction when subject to temperature swings. Water accumulates at the bottom of the hydrocarbon product's storage tank due to its specific gravity. Over time, the accumulated water becomes a major destructive agent