Chemical tank

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BASF Chemical Plant Portsmouth Site in the West Norfolk area of Portsmouth, Virginia. The plant is served by the Commonwealth Railway.

Chemical tanks are storage containers for chemicals. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and are used for static storage, mixing, and transport of both raw materials and finished chemical products.

Chemicals require containers that are not only made of a material resistant to that chemical, but are able to operate within the given mechanical parameters. Compatibility is the most crucial component of chemical tank design. Chemical containers may be impacted by; heat, cold, vacuum or pressure and the aggressive nature of the chemical. Because venting or overflow the exterior of the tank should be given consideration for resistance to the chemical to be stored.

There are short term and long term goals associated with the engineering and specification of the correct materials for a chemical container. While economic considerations are a factor, the design of chemical storage containers and how they may impact the environment is crucial to the container design specifications.

Typically, there will be a chemical profile report know as a "MSDS" (Material Safety Data Sheet) which is provided by most chemical manufacturers or distributors and should be the starting point for chemical tank design. Chemical tanks should be designed in conjunction with the chemical manufacturer, providing some historic experience regarding tank materials compatibility to the chemical.

The following information is of extreme value to the chemical tank and the environment, insuring a longer maintenace cycle for the tank. Expansion joints are devices that isolate the stress forces that would otherwise be transferred to the chemical tank, ie. vibration, torsional and tangental movement, expansion and contraction originating with the tank itself. Without an expansion joint stress is directed to wall of the tank ajacent to the process connection.

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[edit] Standards

NACE - National Association of Corrosion Engineers http://www.nace.org/nace/index.asp
NACD - National Association of Chemical Distributors http://www.nacd.com/
AICHE - American Institute Of Chemical Engineers http://www.aiche.org/index.aspx
ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers http://www.asme.org/