tankfarm piping

[majicmajic]

Hi,

please advise the reference standards which guides the pipe routing, valve locations etc inside dyke wall for oil and gas indusrties.

( like NFPA-13 etc...)


thanks in advance for your valuable comments

 

[chicopee]

I am not sure that there is one. Obviously each tank will have a shut off valve near the piping connection. All diked storage tanks that I have seen to date were mostly for the storage of gasoline, fuel oils , kerosene, biofuels and the tank piping were either penetrating thru or going over the dikes. The reason for piping going over the dikes is mainly due to concerns about possible corrosion of the piping if penetration was thru earthen dikes as well as pleasing the EPA reps that the pipes could be visually inspected. Pump houses were all outside the diked area because ease of access to pumps and switches and also not creating, damaging pathways over earthen dikes by personnel.

 

[LittleInch]

I agree, there are no "standards" other than individual company guides.

Note also for piping penetrations through bunds - For either earth or concrete, but especially for concrete wall bunds, the buncefield tank farm fire showed that many penetrations failed during the long pool fires causing leakage of product and millions of gallons of water / foam. Hence although it can get in the way of hydraulics, going up and over the bund is now recognised as the safest way to di it.

Otherwise is mainly comes down to access and maintenance. Any electrical equipment (actuators etc) need to be rated for hazardous area, but otherwise you just need to think what would happen if the bund was full of whatever liquid is in your tank.

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way

 

[majicmajic]

@ chicope & Littleinch, thanks for the comments. also is there is any restriction in routing the pipe under gorund inside tank farm with bund wall ?

 

[LittleInch]

Mainly corrosion protection issues and also many bunds come with an impermeable layer to prevent seepage into the ground. If you break it, it is very difficult to seal and also very difficult to repair (You would need to drain the tank).

No real advantages and a lot of negatives.

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way

 

[weldstan]

For product containing lines, all of the piping that I have been associated with the design or installation has been to B31.3.

 

[ades]

In my experience there are no standards regarding this topics. I dont remembe NFPA saying something about it. I agree its better to pass the pipe over the dike or Wall, it also permits displacements when temperatura rises. On the other hand you always put a valve at the outlet of the tank, close to the shell; and also the tank farm must have a drain for rain water that must be always closed. Also pipes may have a pressure relief valve, if temperature goes up, but you cant leave it to the atmosphere, and you must analize what risks you have in case of fire.

 

[chicopee]

If you want the piping to go underground, then you should consider double wall piping,ie, a pipe within a pipe.

 

[IFRs]

If you are connecting to cross country pipelines, then you need to review B31.4 to see where their jurisdiction ends and B31.3 starts. If you are connecting to a marine facility like a dock, you need to review the Coast Guard rules to see where their jurisdiction ends.

 

[majicmajic]

what is the maximum volume ( considering all tanks ) which can be contained in a single Dyke wall ?

I have a requriement of 40,000 M3 heay oil storage (RMG-380 , BS2869 Class G Heavy Fuel Oil ). Can I make it in a signle dyke area or whether i have to split it to two due to large volume?


thanks for the feedback in advance.

 

[LittleInch]

Usually for the same product, you can have a common bund around a number of tanks, sized for the biggest tank x 110%, but there are limits in the NFPA code which vary by product type, size etc. There are also issues about separation which vary by product so you need to look at the NFPA code

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way

 

[majicmajic]

i was refering NFPA 30 but i didnot get what could be maximum volume allowed in a single dyke tank farm. I may be using 4x 10,000 M3 or 3x10,000 m3 + 2x5000 M3 depends on the space. but i wanted to confirm whether i can use single tank farm or should use two tank farm to accommodate this much volume of liquid.

 

[LittleInch]

I think it's a million barrels (160,000 m3), but where this is in the code or whether it was in a previous version I don't know. It needs t be the same class of substance, but that volume you can get in a single bunded area.

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way

 

[majicmajic]

what shall be the minimum distance between two dyked tank farms, if i have to splits the tanks in to two tank farm ?