【Safety Management and Standardization of Special Equipment】Pressure Vessels: Guidelines for Determining Whether to Install Grounding Devices

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Ensure proper safety management of special equipment; standardization ensures safety. [Special Equipment Safety Management and Standardization] – Comprehensive summary post! Constantly being updated – feel free to communicate! ! ! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5718553 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum (Hua Haichuan Liu hcbbs)). Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussions. ---------------------------------------------------------Whether a pressure vessel needs to be equipped with a grounding device depends on its purpose, the properties of the medium it contains, and whether it is fixed or mobile. In accordance with current safety technical specifications and industry standards, the specific requirements are as follows: 1. For fixed pressure vessels, (1) generally no separate lightning rod is required, but they should be connected to the lightning protection system of the area in which they are located or have their own lightning protection grounding system. ⑵If flammable and explosive substances (such as liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, gasoline, etc.) are stored, an electrostatic grounding system must be installed to discharge accumulated static electricity and prevent explosions caused by discharges. ⑶For storage tanks with a volume of ≥ 50 m³ or a diameter of ≥ 2.5 m, the specifications require: ① No fewer than 2 grounding points ； ②The grounding points are evenly distributed along the tank, with a spacing of ≤ 30 m ； ③The grounding electrodes should be connected to form a circular closed loop. II. Whether mobile pressure vessels (such as tank trucks and tank containers) must be equipped with antistatic grounding devices depends on the medium contained within them: (1) When filled with flammable or explosive media (such as liquefied petroleum gas, liquid chlorine, hydrogen, etc.), reliable antistatic grounding devices must be installed ； ⑵Filling with non-flammable and non-explosive media (such as liquid nitrogen, liquid argon, etc.): No mandatory requirement. Note: Due to their special structure, railway tank cars are not subject to the above mandatory grounding requirements. Relevant regulatory requirements: ① The \"TSG 21—2016 Safety Technical Inspection Regulations for Fixed Pressure Vessels\" stipulate the need to install reliable static electricity grounding facilities ； ②The \"TSG R0005—2011 Safety Technical Inspection Regulations for Mobile Pressure Vessels\" specifies whether grounding is required based on the properties of the medium ； ③“SH/T 3097—2017 Specifications for Static Grounding Design in Petrochemical Industry” stipulates the technical requirements for static grounding of equipment ； ④“GB 50057—2010 Code for Design of Lightning Protection of Buildings” stipulates the requirements for lightning protection grounding for metal tanks with explosion hazards. Summary ⑴ Having a grounding device is a common and necessary safety measure, but it is not required for all pressure vessels ； ⑵Key criteria for judgment: whether it contains flammable and explosive materials + whether it is a mobile container ； ⑶When used in industries such as chemicals, petroleum, and gas, it is almost always necessary to install static or lightning protection grounding systems. ⑷For specific design or inspection criteria, please refer to the “Standards and Specifications for the Design and Construction of Tank Grounding Systems” or the “Design Code for Static Electricity Grounding in Petrochemical Industry”.