External floating roof tank

An external floating roof tank is a storage tank

commonly used to store large quantities of
petroleum products such as crude oil or
condensate. It consists of an open- topped
cylindrical steel shell equipped with a roof that
floats on the surface of the stored liquid. The roof
rises and falls with the liquid level in the tank. As
opposed to a fixed roof tank there is no vapor space
(ullage) in the floating roof tank (except for very
low liquid level situations). In principle, this
eliminates tank breathing loss and greatly reduces
the evaporative loss of the stored liquid. There is a
rim seal system between the tank shell and roof to
reduce rim evaporation.

The roof has support legs hanging down into the

liquid. At low liquid levels the roof eventually lands External floating roof tank (double deck type)
and a vapor space forms between the liquid surface
and the roof, similar to a fixed roof tank. The
support legs are usually retractable to increase the working volume of the tank.

Contents
Advantages
Disadvantages
System function
See also
References
External links

Advantages
External roof tanks are usually installed for environmental or economical reasons to limit product
loss and reduce the likelihood of emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other
potential air pollutants.

Normally, the roof of the tank rests directly on the surface of the stored liquid, leaving little vapor
space and consequently leading to a much lower risk of rim space fire.[1]

Disadvantages
Snow and rain water can accumulate on the roof; the roofs are designed to hold up to a 24 hour 10"
/ 255mm rain event.
Roofs are exposed to sunlight and weather which can accelerate corrosion.
System function
Water on the roof is usually drained by a special flexible hose or other special drain line system
that runs from drain-sumps on the roof, through the stored liquid to a drain valve on the shell at
the base of the tank. A hose is the shortest quickest route, Other drain systems are available both
rigid and semi-rigid. These are named 'Articulated' as they use straight lengths of steel pipes with
mechanical swivel joints or consist of steel pipes with flexible sections.

See also
storage tank
fixed roof tank

References
1. TankerTrackers.com (September 27, 2017). "A Beginner's Guide To Calculating Oil Storage
Tank Occupancy With Help Of Satellite Imagery" (https://medium.com/planet-stories/a-beginne
rs-guide-to-calculating-oil-storage-tank-occupancy-with-help-of-satellite-imagery-e8f38720017
8). Medium. Retrieved October 6, 2017. "In order for crude oil storage tanks to avoid a buildup
of explosive gases, the rooftop rests on the oil directly."

External links
Use of floating roof storage tanks in Oil & Gas industry (http://articles.compressionjobs.com/arti
cles/oilfield-101/5130-storage-tanks-vessels-gas-liquids?start=2)
Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, Volume 1: Stationary Point and Area Sources.
Chapter 7. Chapter 7: Liquid Storage Tanks (http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch07/final/c07s
01.pdf)

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This page was last edited on 23 August 2019, at 23:25 (UTC).

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