Still only one UK
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grp spirit tanker
BECAUSE of last year's resin shortage, among other factors, still only one articulated grp tanker has been built for UK operation with petroleum spirit.
This was revealed by Mr Don Booth, chief transport engineer of Conoco Ltd, in a paper he presented to a reinforced plastics symposium held in Gelsenkirchen on October 7/8. The single tanker is the one featured in CM last year and built for Conoco by Yewco.
Mr Booth told the sympo-sium that the tanker was one of four prototypes whose building had been authorised by the Home Office. Apart from some minor teething troubles in its special equipment (not connected with the use of grp in its construction) the reinforced plastics tank had given very good service.
Special tests conducted on behalf of the Home Office had shown that the dissipation of static electricity during loading was equal to or better than that of an equivalent steel tank. He told a questioner that this could be achieved if the foot-valve area was large enough: in the Conoco tanker a perforated metal tube was extended upwards from the foot-valve into the product area, and this effectively dissipated static quickly. There were only micro-seconds difference in static discharge time between a steel and a grp tanker; the internal plastic lining on typical steel tanks was a factor in this.
He stressed the importance of maintenance in safe operation of spirit tankers. There were no short cuts and there was no substitute for adequately trained, competent personnel well versed in the maintenance of standard and special equipment on a petroleum tanker. It had been found difficult to contract this out, so the petroleum industry undertook most of its own vehicle maintenance.
Mr Booth said minor damage during operation had shown the grp tank's inherent strength, and a body scrape, was easily resprayed.