Floating Roof Tank Spill Prevention

Floating Roof Tank Spill Prevention (Drexelbrook)

One of the most difficult and critical applications is measuring the high alarm or potential overfill condition on a floating roof tank containing liquid petroleum products such as crude oil or refined products such as fuel. It normally is comprised of a cylindrical steel tank equipped with an internal or external floating roof, that floats on the surface of the stored liquid. Floating roof tank systems are especially beneficial in eliminating the evaporative losses of the liquids. As opposed to a fixed roof tank there is no vapor space in the tank. This helps to reduce risk in highly explosive vapor environments. This is an extremely high cost of failure application, and one in which only the safest and most trusted products are accepted.

Drexelbrook's
Intellipoint

Safe operation of the tank farm relies on critical real time continuous level measurements of the liquids in the tank, as well as detecting when a high level condition exists. Products used in this application are typically required to meet the API 2350 Overfill Protection Standards, as well as SIL Safety Integrity Level performance standards to IEC 61508.

The challenges to reliably detect a high level condition on a floating roof tank are long sensor length requirements, and the variability of what is being measured. The floating roof may be dry in which case you need to detect the position of the physical metal roof. Or there may be a few inches of rain water or petroleum liquids on the roof. Measuring instruments need to determine very accurately, usually within a few millimeters, when the position of the floating roof has reached a high level alarm condition.

Drexelbrook's Intellipoint, with its unique floating roof probe, can accurately detect and alarm on the position of the floating roof or the presence of liquid under all these conditions. The safety Intellipoint is a SIL2 fully certified RF admittance point level switch with uncompromising reliability for the most demanding applications.  Drexelbrook has almost 60 years of RF admittance technology experience and is proud to offer this specialized product as the latest in its award-winning portfolio for the level market.

Product features include:

• Adjustable up to 15 feet, or 4.6 meters, to accurately control the alarm point. 
• A trip point accuracy of a few millimeters.
• Fully SIL2 certified to IEC61508. 
• Worldwide hazardous area approvals .
• Meets overfill protection standards API2350.
• A floating roof tank probe that is unique in the industry.