Acid Resistant Concrete? 2

[JAE]

I have a situation where I am being asked to design an in-ground concrete sump pit to house a sump pump.

The pit is fed via an underground pipe from a rail car pan system that is intended to collect chemical spills from rail cars should an accident happen.

The chemicals for different pits involve caustic, flammable and acidic materials. The acidic materials are causing the most concern here.
We are concerned that the acids (full strength non-diluted) will simply eat away the concrete should a spill occur.

In chapter 4 of ACI 318 -11 there is reference to sulphates, but this appears to be more for in-ground natural sulfates in soils in direct contact with concrete and not for direct contact with pure acids.

Are there any ACI (or other) documents, guides, etc. that pertains to concrete and acid exposure like this?
Or are we simply required to find some kind of acid resistant liner for the inside of the sump pits?

 

[SlideRuleEra]

JAE - You will probably have to use a suitable liner. Our coal-fired wet flue gas desulphurization (scrubber) systems typically use either rubber lining or proprietary high-performance linings to protect both steel and concrete from SO[sub]x[/sub] acids. Here is one manufacturer's proprietary products: High Performance Linings

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[WARose]

I've typically specified Blome's EC-90 or EC-200 for such applications. But for any coating, you may want to contact them directly to see if it covers the particular chemical you have in mind. Most data sheets are vague on this point.

 

[PropertyGuy67]

My advice: you're better off with a metal liner, like Hastelloy C. Weld a pit box together, set it in a concrete basin (for double containment). But make sure your choice of metal will withstand everything you intend to throw at it.

Reason why I advise metal is because I used to work on acid/caustic waste neutralization systems that had periodically-high solvent content. In the long run metal was the thing that held up the best. Soft linings and coatings were slaves to the substrate, and if we had to make a repair, it was impossible to get the coating to bond with the exposed concrete. With a coating, we basically chased leaks and watched the concrete erode away. The Hastelloy C tanks were indestructible.

 

[dik]

Always used metal containers for acidic containment... Hastelloy being one of the materials and excellent for acid.

Dik