Let’s talk about the corrosion of oil storage tanks

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With the rapid development of the petrochemical industry, many factories have built large oil storage tanks. According to information from the “National Tank Corrosion Prevention Conference,” there are nearly 5,000 storage tanks of various types in China’s petrochemical industry. The typical design service life is 20 years. However, since the oil stored in them often contains impurities such as organic acids, inorganic salts, sulfides, and microorganisms, which can cause corrosion of steel, the service life of oil tanks is typically reduced by about 5 years; in severe cases, they become unusable after just about a year. This phenomenon of corrosion-induced perforation not only leads to oil leakage, resulting in energy waste and hazards such as pollution, fires, and explosions, but also causes an increase in the gum content, pH level, and salt content of the oil due to corrosion, thereby affecting its usability. Therefore, it is very necessary to study the corrosion mechanisms and protection methods of oil tanks.