Corrosion Protection for Stainless Steel Tanker

We recently worked with a company who specialise in hazardous liquid tankers to provide corrosion protection for a stainless steel tanker. The new stainless steel vacuum tanker would be used to transport various acidic waste streams throughout the UK.

The tank was 7.5m long with a diameter of 1.91m. Access was provided through two off 600mm tank top manways. There was also another access point at the bottom of the rear dish. The tank would be collecting acidic liquids, with the possibility of weak solvents, all at ambient temperatures. With this in mind, Polyglass VEF was the coating system selected for the job. Corrocoat specifically designed Polyglass VEF to offer protection against corrosion in aggressive chemical environments. This coating systems has a proven track record with road tankers.

The first coat of Polyglass VEF was applied by airless spray to a minimum WFT (Wet Film Thickness) of 600 microns. As part of a comprehensive corrosion protection coating system, fibreglass woven matting was applied to the interface areas of the tank. This included the bottom 1/3^rd of the shell below the manway access points, i.e.  baffle joints and manway neck joints and other stress areas.  These reinforced layers improved the tensile properties of the coating and cracking resistance due to movement.

Following a second coat of Polyglass VEF to a specified minimum DFT of 1200 microns, thickness checks, spark testing and a 100% visual inspection was completed. A final topcoat of Polyglass VE Veilcoat was then applied. On completion of the application, the coating was post cured at 60–80ºC for 8 hours. This ensures the full cure offered the resistance required to provide corrosion protection for the stainless steel tanker against the waste streams being collected.

Find out more about the long term protection we offer for tanks and vessels here.