Ammonia Storage: Selection & Safety Issues GS Lele This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of various structures of ammonia storage tanks. It also provides the various codes and standards applicable for flat bottomed, vertical and cylindrical storage tanks. The author also lists rel- evant safety aspects to be considered for storage of liquid ammonia. ( AUTHOR GS Lele is a chemical engineer and an alumnus of Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur. He is presently Deputy General Manager ~ Process, with Uhde India Ltd, where he is’actively involved with the Cryogenic Storage Group. He has participated in the conceptualization, design and commisisoning of Uhde India’s cryogenic storage projects. Chemical Industy Digest. May 2008 85ap t Introduction ltorage of liquid ammonia has been done in the ‘chemical industry for the past several decades, ‘right from the time ammonia began to be com- | mercially produced. Due to the inherent physical prop- | etty of ammonia, the earlier designs for handling liq- uid ammonia used the pressurized storage concept as ammonia liquid could be stored at ambient tempera- tures. However the tanks were to be designed for el- evated pressures. To enable liquid ammonia to be stored at near atmospheric conditions meant that am- monia had to be cooled and refrigerated to -33°C. Inspite of the best insulation methods utilized, a re- frigeration system is required to keep the ammonia in liquefied form. Until the 1970's it was normal practice to store re- frigerated ammonia in single con- tainment tanks. Since that time it has increasingly become the prac- tice for the inner tank for ammonia | to be surrounded by an outer tank or wall. The outer tank or wall is in- tended to prevent the release of the liquefied products into the sur- rounding area in case of leakage from or damage to the inner tank. This philosophy results in in- creased safety for the surrounding area. Such constructions are known as double containment and full containment tanks. The double containment tanks and full containment tanks gen For large tions, location ‘Ammonia Storage spheric cryogenic storages for liquefied gases like am- monia, design can be se- lected from three basic types as defined in BS 7777 taking into account local regula- tank with respect to adjacent plants, inhabitants and type of product stored. ora woot nein pean suaing | Conca podea ally have outer tanks or walls made from pre-stressed concrete, reinforced concrete with an earth embankment or one of the metals specified for the inner tank. Types of the ammonia storage tanks Primarily, there are 3 prevalent methods for stor ing liquid ammonia. © Pressurized storage at ambient temperature for small capacities (up to 100 MT) in horizontal pres- sure vessels (pressure: 12-18 kg/cm?g) Semi-refrigerated storage in spheres for capacities upto 2000 MT (pressure 4-6 kg/cm?g) # Atmospheric pressure storage at -33°C for large ca- ppacities (2000 MT and higher) with the following types: o Single wall tank © Double wall tank © Double wall full containment tank scale atmo- Disadvantages of pre- ssurised storages ‘There are certain limitations in storage of ammonia in pressurized tanks, Some of them are outlined belo ‘Limitations in terms of storage ca- pacity (1000-2000 MT), as present day large capacity plants need more stor- age space. A major factor is the safety aspect | wherein escape of ammonia under pressure is potentially more danger- | ous than leakage of ammonia from an | atmospheric tank. ‘¢ Construction of pressurized spheri- cal tank is much more difficult and costly per MT of ammonia stored in comparison with an atmospheric tank. Atmospheric ammonia stor- age tanks For large scale atmospheric cryo- genic storages for liquefied gases like ammonia, design can be selected from three basic types as defined in BS 7777 of the storage ‘Chemical industy Digest. May 2008(single, double and full containment design) taking into account local regulations, location of the storage tank with respect to adjacent plants, inhabitants and type of product stored. Toxicity, flammability, explo- sive limits, auto ignition temperature & density of va- por need special attention. Single wall tank In this type of design, primary container (Inner tank) is provided to hold liquid at low temperature and vapor product under normal / design operating conditions. Insulation is provided on the external sur- face to minimize heat leakage. External secondary containment is provided in the form of low height dyke wall to contain the liquid com- ing out due to rupture of inner tank. Emission to at- mosphere of vaporized gas is reduced by providing suitable foaming system. This design has been adopted for storages of gases because of its low toxic- | E29 JOREAT STEEL & AMETALS Stockist & Suppliers OF Pipe, Fitting. Sheet; Coils. Rods, Flats. Copper, Brass. P.B. Monel. Inconal. Hastalloy. Titanium. & Aluminium OF All Grades. 304, 364L,316, 316L, 321, 310, 410,420, & 430. REFRIGERATION QUALITY COPPER TUBE ‘CONTACT : Post Box No. 3717, 10/12, New Hira Building, 1st Floor, Room No. 15, | st Parsiwada, Mumbal-400 004 Tel : 022-2586 4314/ 2386 8818, Fax: 2387 8403 E-mail: mehla@greaimetal com, Website : www.greaimetal.com ‘SHEETS, PLATES & COS ity hazards. For ammonia, these designs have been used in some plants which have been located far away from populated areas due to safety reasons. Double wall tank ‘A double contain- ment tank is designed and constructed so that both the inner & outer tanks are ca pable of containing the refrigerated liquid stored independently. The inner tank con- tains the refrigerated liquid and vapor un- der normal operating conditions. The outer tank (which is located < 6m distance from in- ner tank) is intended to contain refrigerated product leakage from the inner tank but is not intended to con- (a <2 ype ew canproir gwen yum + ‘Chemical Industry Digest. May 2008 tain any vapor result- 87