NISTM 05/28/2015 Phoenix, Arizona Presenter: Greg Young Vaporless Manufacturing, Inc. 928-775-5191
Quality Petroleum Equipment Solutions for Over 25 Years Nitrogen Blanketing To Stop Aggressive Corrosion May 2015
Aggressive Corrosion What it is Not Galvanic Corrosion Sacrificial Anodes Not Effective Impressed Current Not Affective
Aggressive Corrosion What it is Not Phase Separated Fuel
Aggressive Corrosion What it is It is rampant growth of one or more Acetobacter Bacteria cultures It is the waste of the bacterial growth, Acetic Acid
Why Now? Different Refining Techniques Different Fuel Stocks Reduction of Water Use Reuse of Water New Fuel Formulations Reduced Sulphur Helped keep bacteria in check Anybody heard of Ultra Low Sulphur Gasoline?
How to Reduce / Eliminate the acidic attack The bacterial growth is accelerated by the presence of: water / moisture oxygen
How to Reduce / Eliminate the acidic attack Keep water / moisture out of the tank Rain Caps for all tanks P/V Valves for all tanks Keep the tank top fittings tight / sealed
API 2000 Addresses Environmental Corrosion Control for Large Fuel Tanks These protocols have been a recommended practice and have been in proven use at refineries, bulk fuel storage facilities, bulk fuel transfer terminals, and airports worldwide for over 7 years VMI has scaled and customized the concept for tanks 50,000 gallons and less
Problems Even When the Tank Top is Tight The more successful (higher volume) the site is, the more air that is sucked into the tank Incoming air has moisture Moisture condenses on cool tank interiors Tank top moisture is food for bacteria
Eliminate the Tank Breathing P/V Valve Monitor tank top to determine tank pressure Deliver dry Nitrogen to replace the air drawn into the tank No moisture to condense No oxygen for bacteria
What we found: The retrofit concept is very workable New installations even easier Failure during maintenance or testing to reattach or correctly tighten fittings is identified and communicated.
What we found: Daily monitoring of the ullage of the tank is achievable. Water ingress due to failure to properly reconnect fittings, probes or other connections is reduced or eliminated. Daily Testing of the Tank Top is achievable.
Premature failure of tank top equipment is significantly reduced or eliminated, including pumps, probes, overfill protection equipment etc. Reduced filter replacements Reduced tank cleans Reduced or eliminated sump failures Reduced or eliminated fillpipe failures Premature tank failure reduced or eliminated
Acidification of the Sump 1. Stop the destruction of the portion of the sump you cannot see, inside the tank 2. The transfer of the acidic atmosphere from tank ullage to inside of the sump
After the Tank Stops Acidifying Has there been high filter replacement Have meters been replaced Eliminating Established Colonies One more tank cleaning
One Byproduct of the Process Nitrogen The need for nitrogen to top off vehicle tires that have nitrogen filled tires We can supply the nitrogen for this at little expense.
Quality Petroleum Equipment Solutions for Over 25 Years Safety Port May 2015
Where are line and line leak detector tests performed?
Quick Connect Fittings Sound Good, so What s the Problem?
Location, Location, Location Permanent installation of test fittings in the shear valve can prevent the shear valve from doing its job if the dispenser gets hit. As a result, regulators nationwide have required removal of test fittings from shear valves following line and leak detector testing.
Testing and Service Benefits Safety Ports increase technician safety by limiting contact with fuel No fuel spray on technicians or forecourt Less chance of vaporized fuel ignition by technicians or customers No fuel vapors to inhale No flying plugs accessing a test port
Testing and Service Benefits Safety Ports enable faster, better tests No time lost slowly depressurizing a line More comprehensive ALLD test Testing from the Safety Port includes in-dispenser piping that is excluded when testing from the shear valve* Testing from the Safety Port includes operational head pressure that is lost testing from the shear valve * Reference on next slide
Tightness testing does not prove that a storage system is tight. a) Piping tightness tests most often do not test the entire piping system. The dispenser is most often isolated by closing the shear valve at the base of the dispenser; as a result, leaks inside the dispenser will not be detected. As printed in the March 2013, Bulletin 72, L.U.S.T.LINE by Marcel Moreau
LDT-890\AF testing through Safety Port
UL The Safety Port has completed UL testing and is now labeled. There is no reason to allow testing to continue through a non-ul approved test port (shear valve)