Rich in history and experience, AkzoNobel’s linings product range is world-renowned for its quality and reliability
The linings are developed to maximise technical performance for nearly every lining application in the field.
When selecting an internal tank lining for a storage tank there are many factors to consider. The first items to consider are what chemicals are to be stored, at what concentration and temperatures? As temperatures increase the stress on a lining increases and lining selection becomes more of a challenge.
One aspect to consider in these situations is the effect of the temperature difference between the fluid inside the tank and the ambient temperature outside of the tank and what is known as the cold wall effect. This may not be taken into consideration due to the hot climate that is normally faced in the Middle East, however, this can still occur during the winter months.
In heated tanks where cargo is stored at temperatures which are higher than that of the outside of the tank, a possible cause of lining failure is where the lining has blistered on the inside of the tank.
Even if it is believed the lining has the required temperature resistance these failures could have been caused by the cold wall effect, due to the difference in temperature between the hot fluid inside the tank and the colder environment outside the tank. An analogy to help understand the cold wall effect is to consider how water condensation forms on walls or windows of a bathroom after a hot shower in winter; the warm water vapour in the air cools on the walls and turns to a liquid on the wall. This is the same inside a tank lining where the water molecules passing through the lining forms condensation on the tank wall.
The applied thickness of a lining is an important consideration as it takes the water longer to pass through a thicker lining than it does to pass through a thinner lining. However, the more important characteristic of the lining is the permeability. The combination of permeability and thickness of the lining will determine the time it takes for the water to pass through the lining. Simply increasing the thickness of the lining is not necessarily a good action as in some types of lining this can lead to other problems, such as sagging before cure or cracking during cure.
AkzoNobel’s protective coatings business is dedicated to developing market leading, sustainable lining solutions for steel and concrete, primary and secondary containment structures.
With more than 170 linings options available across the Enviroline ®, Ceilcote®, Polibrid® and Interline® ranges there is a solution for every linings project. The linings are backed by extensive internal and external third-party lab performance testing to validate superior performance in a variety of chemical and operating conditions.
