JPCL • August 2003 • PCE 11www.paintsquare.com

Technology

he application of a glassflake-reinforced epoxy sys-tem to the tank bottom and

lower internal shell surfaces of a10,000-barrel fuel oil storage tank at aPennsylvania petroleum storage ter-minal provided the owner with threebenefits: the maximum inspection in-terval allowed by the American Petro-leum Institute (API) for an above-ground storage tank, reduced topsiderepairs, and quick turnaround, saysthe senior project engineer.

The 1999 lining project was precip-itated by the results of a routine API653 inspection, which identified un-derside and topside corrosion of thetank bottom.

Based on these results, the owner

had three maintenance options. Thetank bottom could undergo extensivewelding repairs or replacement of thetank bottom, which might qualify itfor a ten-year inspection intervalbased on the minimum bottom thick-ness remaining after repairs.

Another option would be to installa reinforced fiberglass lining, whichwould permit a 20-year inspection in-terval but would also entail a five-stepapplication process and a five- to sev-en-day cure.

The third choice, lining with a fastcuring, 100% solids glass flake-rein-forced epoxy system, would providethe same inspection interval as the re-

inforced fiberglass lining, allow a low-er permissible bottom thickness thana thin-film system (0.05 in. as com-pared to 0.1 in.), and have an appliedcost lower than that of the reinforcedfiberglass lining. The applicationcosts would be similar to that of athin-film lining system. In addition,says the project engineer, the rein-forced epoxy’s one-coat applicationand fast cure of less than 24 hourswould reduce downtime and returnthe tank to service, saving the ownerweeks of lost revenue.

Preparing and Lining the TankFollowing the emptying and cleaningof the carbon steel storage tank by theowner, the contractor performed an

Reinforced Epoxy System RemediesFuel Tank Corrosion

PROJECT NEWS

by Lori Huffman, JPCL

JPCL • August 2003 • PCE12 www.paintsquare.com

“inspection blast,” which is betweenan SSPC-SP 7, Brush-off blast and anSSPC-SP 6, Commercial blast (~Sa 1,Light, and Sa 2, Thorough). The in-spection blast removes scale and ex-poses pitting for the purposes of mag-netic flux evaluation, which is usedto determine the extent of undersidecorrosion.

The inspection took place on June1, 1999, and the lining project wascarried out over four days, says DavidCushman, general manager for thecontractor.

The owner specified abrasive blast-ing to an SSPC-SP 10, Near White fin-ish [~Sa 2.5, Very Thorough] and aprofile of two to three mils (50 to 75micrometers). After blasting, the con-tractor applied an epoxy holdingprimer by spray to a thickness of onemil (25 micrometers). The next day,the contractor applied the glass-flake-reinforced epoxy in one coat to the in-terior floor and to a distance of two ft(0.6 m) up the sidewalls, says Cush-

man. Heated plural-componentequipment was used to apply the re-inforced epoxy to a thickness greaterthan 50 mils (1,250 micrometers).

The project was inspected by thelining distributor’s representative,Tony Morkun, says the project engi-neer. The representative monitoredthe surface cleanliness and profile ofthe steel and checked for proper ap-plication of the system. Following aone-day cure, the contractor per-formed holiday testing with a highvoltage spark tester, says Cushman.The tank passed inspection and wasput back into service five days afterthe project began.

West Virginia Paint (Clifton, NJ)prepared and lined the storage tank.Industrial Environmental CoatingsCorporation (Pompano Beach, FL)manufactures the epoxy primer andglass flake-reinforced epoxy. The lin-ing distributor is Avilion Inc. (Down-ingtown, PA).

Installation of the fiberglass-reinforced liningcovered the bottom of the tank and the lowerpart of beams and the tank walls.Courtesy of Avilion Inc.