Oil Tank Liners

ZEON Product: Zetpol^® 2020

Primary Industry: Oil & Gas

Application Description:

Many places in the world have naturally occurring oil deposits called “oil sands”. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum called bitumen. In some areas, the bitumen is close enough to the surface to be shoveled into trucks. In areas where is deeper, steam is pumped underground to soften the bitumen, allowing it to be pumped to the surface.

Regardless of the method used to pull the bitumen from the ground, once on the surface it is mixed with water in a large steel tank and shaken. This causes the crude oil to float to the top of the tank and separate from the rocks and sand. Due to the abrasive nature of the bitumen coupled with temperatures regularly exceeding 100°C, the overall process can quickly cause significant damage to the steel tanks and shut down operations. To avoid the costly damage to equipment and delays in production, the tanks are lined with a thick layer of a polymer mixed from Zetpol® 2020 HNBR. Able to withstand temperatures of 125°C, Zetpol® 2020 doesn’t swell when exposed to steam. This coupled with inherent resistance to abrasives and hydrocarbons, make Zetpol the perfect solution to this problem.

 

ZEON Value?

Before Zetpol, the tanks were lined with a less robust substance called chlorobutyl. The chlorobutyl lining was an inadequate product for this application, resulting in significant production delays and damaged tanks after only a few months of use. Repair work could take about eight hours assuming necessary materials were on hand, while total lining replacement could take weeks. The Zetpol-based linings last for years, saving the end user time, effort, and money.

Click Here to learn more about the many applications and qualities of Zetpol HNBR.