The marine terminal already had the capability of storing and distributing heating oil, ultra-low sulfur diesel, heavy fuel oil and marine diesel oil. However, to accommodate the lease customer’s storage needs for gasoline and ethanol fuels, three of the existing tanks at the facility would have to be converted from heating oil to gasoline and ethanol service. This required that specially formulated tank linings be installed to handle the new fuels, while also meeting local Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. EPA requirements. The expansion project would also include the construction of 11 new tanks with related terminal infrastructure, the upgrade of an existing truck rack to handle the new fuel products, and the installation of a marine vapor combustor to an existing dock that will allow the terminal to transfer gasoline and blendstock to and from barges and ships. Marine terminal workers will combine the gasoline and ethanol fuels as they load the lease customer’s trucks, creating an E10 fuel blend.
Article Continues After Advertisement
During the project’s bid process, representatives from International Paint Protective Coatings were invited to make a presentation to the project’s owners and engineering staff to introduce two innovative coating technologies, which were developed for the construction and maintenance of tanks in oil and gas environments¯and specially designed to help speed construction schedules, minimize environmental impact and extend maintenance life cycles.
The first coating technology presented was Interplate 937, a heat-resistant, zinc-rich, preconstruction primer that allows the coating to be spray-applied to blasted steel in a controlled fabrication shop environment prior to field construction. This highly durable primer can withstand temperatures of up to 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit and provides excellent abrasion-resistance during speed-welding and cutting, with minimal output of zinc salts. Water soluble zinc salts can be especially troublesome, because as the moisture vapor ions penetrate the coating, they are drawn to the soluble salts and form into a water molecule. As this process repeats itself, a water blister develops and the top coats become blistered or completely detached from the steel beneath.
The terminal’s owners were especially interested in this coating option not only because of its advanced corrosion protection properties, but also because it would significantly reduce the time and labor costs associated with full open blasting and priming of the tanks onsite, while helping to prevent unnecessary damage from overspray to the new cars being unloaded from ships at the Port of Wilmington and stored near the marine terminal’s fence line.
The second technology presented was a mildew-resistant version of Interthane 990UHS, a low volatile organic compound (VOC), acrylic polyurethane topcoat specially formulated for steel tanks that store ethanol, as well as pipes and other exposed steel structures in highly corrosive oil and gas environments. The process of producing ethanol from corn includes the use of micro-organisms or “bugs,” in the form of yeasts and molds. These bugs eventually turn into the unsightly black mildew that commonly appears on ethanol tanks. Using the patented mildew-resistant technology will not only help maintain a clean white appearance on the tanks, but its excellent gloss retention capabilities will help terminal owners extend the cleaning and maintenance cycle of the tanks and piping long-term.
These unique, time- and cost-saving technologies finally convinced the owners and project engineers to specify the coatings for the marine terminal expansion project. Application of the preconstruction primer began at the plate fabricator’s facility in February 2008, using the Redi-Plate system., a fabrication process ensures each plate is prepared and coated to the highest industry standards, meeting ISO 9001 “best practice” manufacturing plant procedures.
After all contaminants such as chlorides, oil, grease and other foreign matter were removed from the large steel plates; they were abrasive cleaned according to the joint Near-White Blast Cleaning specification of The Society of Protective Coatings and National Association of Corrosion Engineers (SSPC SP 10 / NACE No. 2), in order to produce a sharp, dense surface profile of 1.5 mils to 2.5 mils. The surface profile was carefully measured using the ASTM D 4417 test method and then preheated to 110 F to detect any major steel defects.
The preconstruction primer was applied by computer-controlled spray application equipment to ensure a closed, dry film thickness of 0.6 mils to 0.8 mils. Dry film thickness was continuously monitored and verified using polyester plastic control panels, which are temporarily attached to the plate during processing. The completed plate was visually inspected for any surface anomalies and then marked with a batch number to ensure traceability.
| 1 2 | Next Page --> | |
| View Entire Article | ||
