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Here at Heartland Tank Services we’ve constructed a lot of above ground storage tanks in locations throughout the United States and beyond under a wide range of circumstances. We’ve never really given any thought to building a tank any place but on earth, so we were intrigued to see a recent article about building storage tanks in space. Yes, you heard correctly; Mike Snead, President of the Spacefaring Institute™ LLC has been tasked with assessing the possibility of building small storage tanks in space, using minimal components and simple equipment. This interesting endeavour was featured in EngineerLive in an article “Building

Above ground storage tanks come in unlimited sizes and can store a seemingly infinite variety of liquid products. Although it seems like tanks are not that different, one main difference is where they are built. For a liquid fertilizer tank, it is either built in the shop or in the field at the final location. Building Style As indicated by the name, shop built tanks are built in the shop of the construction company. The benefits of being a shop tank builder are always being inside, having a central location for your work force, and being able to have common sized tanks

Several agricultural studies over the past 20 years have confirmed what farmers are discovering in the field; less sulfur exists in today’s farming fields. The Clean Air Act is the interesting cause of this sulfur decrease. In turn, the demand for sulfur liquid fertilizers and API 650 liquid fertilizer tanks to store the products is on the rise. The Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970 and amendments passed in 1990. The aim of this legislation was to significantly reduce six particular air pollutants, including the sulfur dioxide emissions from coal burning facilities. High levels of sulfur dioxide in

Have you ever wondered why you need valve containment boxes on you’re API 650 tank when you already have an internal PVC tank liner, one of the state’s acceptable secondary containment options? First, states that permit internal tank liners require valve containment boxes, so there really is no choice in the matter. Nevertheless, valve containment boxes are worth every penny in protection against a product leak if an above ground tank valve fails. Talking about containment can be disheartening because it is centered on the undesired situation of part of a tank system failing or leaking. Remember though that such safety

In recent years, Oklahoma has experienced hundreds of magnitude 3+ earthquakes annually — with each year since 2013 bringing a remarkable increase over the prior year. What is the cause of this continued increase in earthquakes? According to Oklahoma’s Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environment’s Earthquakes in Oklahoma: What We Know webpage, “The Oklahoma Geological Survey has determined that the majority of recent earthquakes in central and north-central Oklahoma are very likely triggered by the injection of produced water in disposal wells.” In other words, the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its byproducts is a real concern.

API 650 tanks are commonly repurposed to store a different liquid than what intended when the tank was originally built. This happens in every industry imaginable, because companies want to use their capital resources efficiently. The most important step in the process is to have an API 653 tank inspection performed on the above ground storage tank before the new product is introduced. The inspection evaluates the integrity of the tank and calculates the maximum fill height. When an API 650 storage tank is constructed, the design of the tank is chosen based on the liquid that will be

As expected, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC countries reached an agreement in 2016 to cut the production of crude oil to increase prices. This cut has ended the super contango in the oil market, and API 650 tanks are starting to be emptied to put the oil on the market. A contango is when the current price of a commodity does not reflect its actual value. This results in the future price of the commodity being higher than the spot price. A common situation causing contango is an oversupply of the commodity in the market.

The toll of tropical storm Harvey on southeastern Texas continues to grow and be felt in various ways.  With this record breaking amount of rain for the region, structures of all sorts were tested.  This included above ground storage tanks in the oil industry.  Unfortunately, some of the API 650 tanks did not pass the test. Shell reported this week to regulators that the floating roof of one of its API 650 tanks in Deer Park partially sank due to the heavy rainfall.  Based on such issues, 100 pounds of benzene and 100 pounds of toluene were released.  Benzene is classified as a

Hurricane Harvey caused a great deal of destruction due to flooding and shutting down power around the Gulf Coast. While cleanup efforts continue, details of chemicals released during and after the hurricane provide some lessons to be learned in securing an above ground storage tank. The Associated Press has identified at least 34 above ground storage tank and tank battery failures during Harvey. Such spills resulted in the release of more than 600,000 gallons of combined crude oil, gasoline, and other chemicals. The largest spill reported was 461,000-gallons of gasoline from an above ground tank in Galena Park, a