Sphere Price

[liberoSimulation]

I'd like to find out the price of the sphere (Mixed Butanes Sphere) with the following cases:
1- ID 19.2 m , Design Temperature=90 C, Design Pressure = 12.9 barg, Total volume = 3704m3
2- same as above except total volume is half (5o%)
The Material is CS for both cases

Any help or software can I get to calculate the price of this sphere

Thank you in advance
Regards
Libero

 

[Latexman]

19.2 m ID cost $3,110,000 ex fab. shop. 15.2 m ID cost $1,760,000 ex fab. shop.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[Montemayor]

Libero:

It's next to impossible to discuss equipment pricing when one doesn't even know the hemisphere, country, or type of pricing estimate accuracy required. It is even more impossible to estimate the cost of a field-erected storage sphere - and a sphere design almost always indicates field erection due to the size that justifies a sphere shape.

You only give the process specifications; what about the wall thickness, weight, steel grade, supports, structural, nozzles, etc. etc.? Estimaters don't do mechanical sizing and design - that job is up to you.

I don't know of any experienced engineer who would trust an estimate generated by a computer program. An experienced estimater is almost always used to estimate a job such as the one you describe. Sorry for the bad news, but that's the way this type of project is handled in industrial applications. If you only need a budget price, call a fab shop and they'll help you with a figure. But if you need a "hard" number, then you're talking engineering man-hours to do the preliminary design and specifications to allow the estimator a reasonable chance of generating a fairly accurate estimate.

 

[Latexman]

My numbers were Gulf Coast, USA in 2000 $'s. With 63' ID, ex fab. shop was wrong. Field fab'd like Mr. Montemayor said. The basis is past jobs my company has done. +/- 40% quality at best.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[MJCronin]

libero....

Could you please explain the property of the stored liquid that requires storage in a sphere pressure vessel ?

Usually, spheres are reserved for bulk storage of refrigerated gasses. Spheres are the most expensive and difficult pressure vessel shape when compared to all others. Field fabrication of large spheres is difficult and, to the best of my knowledge, was only done by a couple of companys. (PDM, CBI and a couple of others

I would also like (from anybody) some kind of list of process chemicals typically stored in spheres.

regards....

-MJC

 

[Latexman]

My company stores butadiene in spheres (large volume) and horizontal bullet tanks (small volume), depending on quantity.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[JStephen]

The local sewage plant has a chlorine sphere- it's maybe 20' diameter. I assume field erected, but still small.

Latexman, I would assume that dimensions in meters means overseas construction, and steel and tank prices have changed dramatically in the last 5 years.

 

[Latexman]

JStephen, I wouldn't. My business's on-the-shelf design package uses metric globally. I realize prices have changed, but the in-house estimator I pulled up doesn't have escalation factors past 2000 and I was too lazy to dig any further for Libero.

I recall seeing Isoprene in spheres too.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[Montemayor]

MJC:

I believe you will find that the large bulk storage of compressed liquefied gases is usually what is economically justififiable when considering spherical tanks in industry. This, of course, includes the cryogenics as well. Some of the LNG Carriers (transport sea vessels) employ the spherical design for their containment system. The Kalimantan LNG project (1978) used this type of vessels. When I worked for El Paso LNG we used the rectangular containment system because it carried more product per given space in the ships. The liquefiable gases (besides the cryogenic) are those who exhibit the thermophysical property of existing as liquids at ambient temperatures - such as the hydrocarbons (butane, propane, etc.), Ammonia, Chlorine, Fluorine, Bromine, etc.

Spheres are "neat". A sphere is the sole geometric shape that is truly fit for withstanding internal pressure. They are simplistic in design, withstand the highest pressure for the same wall thickness than any other shape and just plain look good. As a young engineer I thought I should be applying spherical design to everything I could. I later found out the "price" (trade-off) of doing so: intensive man-hour labor required, extensive know-how and skilled craftsmen (artisans, really) required to accurately fabricate the spherical segments for field assembly, more land & space required per given storage volume, special design (& cost) for structural, ladders, platforms, awkward and costly design for safety valves, manways, and other critical nozzles, expensive setups for safe external painting and maintenance, special design for foundation and civil work. There are more disadvantages, but the total cost is by far the outstanding characteristic. The fact that only a few fabricators in the world will handle this type of problem doesn't help the price go down. These are all factors that you already know - as I am sure. I mention them for the benefit of those who would be interested to know.

However, I'm still in love with the thought of applying a spherical storage tank on a project. The inherent challenge and trade-offs only provoke me more in applying this type of aesthetic design. I guess there's a little bit of an architect in all of us. However, the exorbitant costs inevitably always affect the ultimate decision. There is a spherical tank farm besides the Shell Refinery here in Houston on Hwy 225. It's been there for many decades that I know of. It looks great and has proved it's safe design for the length of its installation. It would be interesting to know if Shell could justify the same design at today's man-hour costs. Regretfully, I kinda doubt it - but I would love to hear otherwise.

Merry Christmas to you and everyone else. May you all have a Prosperous New Year. I'm off to Tucson, AZ to enjoy my wonderful grandchildren.

 

[liberoSimulation]

Thank you all