Corrosion and Anti-corrosion Measures of Oil Storage Tanks

With the development of the economy, almost every household has a car, so the big environment has created the development of the oil industry. People need to reserve oil and can’t put it into use immediately after exploitation, so they usually use oil storage tanks to store oil in the oil industry. The corrosion degree of oil storage tanks can directly affect the development of the petroleum industry, but the corrosion phenomenon of oil storage tanks in use is extremely common, which requires us to carry out anti-corrosion work when using oil storage tanks to avoid the perforation of oil storage tank walls and ensure the safety of people’s property and life.

Usage of oil storage tanks and causes of easy corrosion

Oil storage tanks play an important role in China’s petroleum industry. Many oil fields, oil refining companies and oil production bases will put oil storage tanks in large quantities. According to the different ways of using oil storage tanks, tdivided into two types: floating roof tanks and dome tanks. According to their size, we can basically divided them into four types: small, medium, large and extra-large. Generally, we  use dome tanks in oil fields, which we can use them to store crude oil, and the size will depend on the amount of oil. In addition, some refineries will use oil storage tanks to store sewage containing chemicals.

As the liquid stored in the oil storage tank has certain corrosiveness, it can be classified into consumables, and the general service life is within 5 years. If people take properly anti-corrosion measures, we can appropriately extend the service life. The main reason why it is easy to corrode the oil tanks is that the stored liquid contains corrosive impurities such as hydrogen and sulfur compounds, and the external environment also very easily disturbe them. Therefore, China has been studying the measures to prevent corrosion of oil tanks.

Corrosion-prone parts of oil storage tanks

1. Outer wall of oil storage tanks

According to the present situation, the outer wall of the oil storage tank is extremely easy to corrode. Generally, the external environment mainly causes the corrosion of the outer wall . The longer we expose the oil storage tank to sunlight, the more serious the corrosion degree of the outer wall will be. In the refinery where we store the oil tank, the chemical gas will corrodes the outer wall ; If we place the oil storage tank near the sea, the atmosphere corrodes the outer wall; Besides, the corrosion degree of the outer wall of the oil storage tank will be more serious in the humid cities in the south.

The humid environment contains a large number of water molecules, which will form a water film on the metal surface of the oil storage tank, resulting in the electrolysis of water, and the chemical reaction will corrode the outer wall.

2. Inner wall of oil storage tanks

Except that the top of the inner wall of the oil storage tank will not be in direct contact with the oil, other parts will get along with the oil for a long time. The most seriously corroded is the bottom of the inner wall is , followed by the top area of the tank. Although we store different liquids in the oil storage tank, they basically have some corrosion effects. For example, water and other elements such as acid, alkali and salt will lead to electrolytic water on the inner wall, which will corrode the inner wall out of the pit, directly penetrating the pipe wall for a long time, resulting in leakage.

In addition, there is plenty of oxygen at the top of the tank, but the uneven concentration distribution often occurs, which leads to the corrosion of the parts with low oxygen concentration. The mixed gas produced in the air gap will also have different chemical reactions, resulting in the corrosion of the tank top area.

3. External bottom of oil storage tanks

Generally, the factory will bury the bottom of a large oil storage tank underground, in which case the outer bottom of the oil storage tank is particularly vulnerable to corrosion. The oxygen concentration in the soil is not enough, so it will cause battery corrosion; When the water in the soil combines with the air to form other chemical reactions, it will also corrode the outer tank bottom; When the oil storage tank is in the open air and rain, snow, hail, etc., the electrochemical response will also appear at the tank bottom, which will lead to corrosion of the external tank bottom.

Basic measures for anticorrosion of oil storage tanks

1. Applying anticorrosive materials evenly on the outer wall

When we carry out anti-corrosion work on the outer wall of oil storage tanks, we can coat some anti-corrosion materials on it. These materials should have excellent anti-oil and anti-fouling properties, which is convenient for subsequent maintenance and secondary painting. In addition, for oil storage tanks bathed in sunshine for a long time, when coating anti-corrosion materials on the outer wall, it should also have the effect of preventing sun and adapting to the temperature.

Try to choose some materials that are not easy to be steamed in the sun and have less hair loss, such as dark anti-corrosion coatings. In this way, it is necessary to consider whether the anti-corrosion coating has fire resistance and expansion function when selecting it. This kind of coating can not only prevent corrosion and reduce heat radiation but also reduce the temperature to prevent the burning phenomenon caused by excessive temperature. At the same time, this kind of coating is a green and pollution-free anti-corrosion coating.

2. Painting internally

For the inner wall directly in contact with oil, we should adopts different anti-corrosion measures according to different parts.

(1) For the bottom of the inner wall, we can use coating with impermeability to reduce the record of medium corrosion, and can also use a high-potential coating. We can use the conductive material as the bottom of the inner wall of the oil storage tank, which can effectively avoid iron as an anode;

(2) For the roof area of the inner wall of the tank, we can use a resistance film with a resistivity of about 106° to prevent static electricity from agglomerating together. When we use the anticorrosive coating, it should have a good effect on blocking the corrosion of chemical gases. At the same time, we should ensure that the coating has no pollution to oil products;

(3) For other inner walls in contact with oil products, besides using the above-mentioned resistance film, it is necessary to ensure that the used anti-corrosion coating does not damage the inner wall steel and pollute the oil products, so as to prevent coating from the source to corrod the steel .

3. Improve the environment at the bottom of the outer wall

When anti-corrosion work is carried out on the bottom of the outer wall of the oil storage tank, it can be carried out from the following three aspects:

(1) Improve the soil environment at the bottom of the outer wall. When burying the bottom of the outer wall of the oil storage tank, try to bury it in the sand. This kind of soil has a general water storage effect, which is conducive to reducing the corrosion degree of the bottom of the outer wall. Cement is injected into the surface of the land to form a cement field, which is conducive to reducing the infiltration of rainwater and other water into the soil, as shown in Figure 1;