Tank farm design seperate pumps flam and non flam - why

[jamesbanda]

We are working through a front end design on a tank farm.
In the tank farm we have 4 non flammable materials, flash point two at 70C, two at 150 C. The flammable tank flash point is -3 C. In terms of tanks we have 50m3 flam and the others are 200-500m3 varied.

I understand the need to seperate the tank and follow design codes and legal requirements but our EPC layout engineer is suggesting to seperate the pump.

To me this seems dumb unless the risk assessment warrents it the layout looks really odd with one pump alley and a seperate pump off the side. I've never seen anything like this on exsiting sites.

Am i being an awkard client and should let the EPC get on with it and accept it or is there a valid reason for this seperate distances.

 

[katmar]

Its all about costs. Flameproof motors are more expensive than non-flameproof ones. But it may be more expensive to have a separate setup and extra piping for the one pump off to the side, just to achieve the required safety distances. Have a look at the overall cost and see which is the cheaper option. Even though it may look silly to use flameproof equipment on non-flammables, it may be the cheaper option in the end to put all your pumps together and use a flameproof pump for the non-flammables.

Katmar Software
Engineering & Risk Analysis Software

http://katmarsoftware.com

 

[pumpguykc]

I HAVE READ OVER YOUR THOUGHTS ON SEPARATING THE PUMPS FROM THE TANKS. I DO NOT AGREE THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT COST. YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE SURE THAT THE PUMPS ARE NOT CONTAMINATING THE OTHER PRODUCTS AND THAT THE PUMPS ARE PROPERLY DESIGNED TO HANDLE THE CONDITIONS. I SEE SO MANY APPLICATIONS WHERE SOME ONE TRIES CUT CORNERS AND IN THE LONG RUN IT ENDS UP COSTING MORE MONEY FOR THE CUSTOMER.

HOW FAR AWAY ARE YOU LOOKING AT PUTTING THE PUMPS FROM THE TANKS? IS THERE A CONTAMINATION ISSUE BY USING ONE PUMP?