Introduction
Preventing environmental pollution caused by hazardous liquids stored in above-ground storage tanks is an urgent issue addressed by national economies, environmental ministries and oil companies around the world. Our goal at Wolftank Group is to protect the soil from contamination. We must consider that this soil is exposed long-term to tanks containing toxic and noxious liquids on the surface, such as crude oil, gasoline and diesel.
The Scope of the Project
Our client, the state-owned Taiwan CPC is developing enormously in terms of petroleum research, refining and retailing, especially in refining and retailing service stations.
On the other hand, Taiwan’s Department of Environmental Protection has recently issued several requirements for above-ground tanks, including the mandatory installation of a leak detection system.
In this context, and as a logical step, Taiwan CPC Dalin Refinery needed to upgrade its facilities and requested us to do so by applying:
- DOPA® 6, our double-walled tank lining system
- EUROMANT®, our solution for external protection and sealing of the ring wall.
The Challenge
Taiwan CPC had further lining requirements for both above-ground and underground tanks but also revealed their doubts about existing Wolftank technology. There were multiple challenges for the application works such as the size of the tank (50 ft), the striker plates on the floor, and the request for free access at the corner radius for inspection of welding between the annular plates and tank shell according to API 653. Furthermore, the lack of experience of the application’s local team made the system application more challenging.
Therefore, Wolftank needed to conduct pre-construction training for our partner’s workers to ensure the construction quality and gain the trust of Taiwan CPC in our lining technology.
The Solution
To present high-quality training, we compiled a documentation package describing:
- The Lining technology for training
- Quality documents and quality control
- HSE booklet with further risk assessment documents for each step of the tank lining
During the preparation phase, installation equipment and testing equipment were purchased from China; this includes the sandblasting machine, the airless sandblasting machine and personal protective equipment, such as gas masks, protective clothing, etc.
During the training, Wolftank conducted practical training on various processes based on the “DOPA® 6 Training” and “Ringwall EUROMANT® Lining” materials, answering questions about coating technology, quality and quality control, as well as HSE.
The Construction
After the successful completion of the training, the team of applicators was able to carry out the construction work on the inner lining of the tank (DOPA®) and the ring wall lining (EUROMANT®). Wolftank team actively supervised the whole process.
The monitoring area covered all the bottom plates of the tank floor. The annular plate itself was covered with a corrosion protection coating to keep the weld at the edge between the hull and the annular ring accessible for API 653 inspection; also with adequate protection against the medium. In this way, the installation was checked and approved by the local API 653 inspector.
The Outcome
The rehabilitation of the storage tank was successfully and safely completed. Our customer highlighted the professionalism and quality of the work. Now, Taiwan CPC is fully convinced that
implementing European standards in storage tank lining in Taiwan is totally possible, safe and efficient.
DETAILS:
Location: Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Tank No.: TL-406, 2000m³,
Diameter: 50ft, Height: 40ft, with internal floating roof
Liquid in the tank: MTBE
