Can a horizontal storage tank be operated without a lightning rod? If it is to be installed, how should the installation be designed?

Personal opinion: Requirements for installing a lightning rod: 1. The device should be located at the highest point in the area. 2. The wall thickness of the equipment is less than 4 mm. Therefore, I think it is not necessary to install a lightning rod on this storage tank.

It’s not the highest, but the fire department ordered us to install it. Come on, is this considered bullying?

In my opinion, it is not necessary. The installation of lightning rods is usually carried out by the electrical engineering department in the design institute; it is not focused on a single device but takes the entire setup as a whole into consideration. Lightning rods are generally placed at the highest points around the framework – for example, vent pipes equipped with flame arresters can also serve as lightning protection devices

The conditions aren’t fully specified, but there must be a reason why the fire department requires them. Take a look at these items I just found! (1) When the thickness of the steel plate on the top of the tank is greater than 4 mm and a vent valve is installed, it is not necessary to install a lightning protection device. However, the oil tank body must be properly grounded, with no fewer than 2 grounding points spaced no more than 30 meters apart, and the impulse grounding resistance of its grounding system must not exceed 30Ω. (2) When the thickness of the tank top steel plate is less than 4 mm, even though a vent valve is installed, a lightning rod should also be installed on the tank top. The horizontal distance between the lightning rod and the vent valve should be no less than 3 m, and the protection range above the vent valve should be no less than 2 m. (3) Floating roof tanks (including internal floating roof tanks) may not require lightning protection devices, but there must be a reliable electrical connection between the floating roof and the tank body. (4) Storage tanks for non-metallic flammable liquids should be equipped with separate lightning rods to prevent direct lightning strikes. At the same time, measures against induced lightning should also be in place. The impulse grounding resistance of the lightning rod shall not exceed 30Ω. (5) For underground oil tanks with a soil cover thickness of more than 0.5 m, lightning protection measures need not be considered, but the vent valves, sampling ports, and gas extraction ports should be properly grounded. There should be no less than 2 grounding points, and the impulse grounding resistance should not exceed 10Ω. (6) Open storage tanks for flammable liquids shall be equipped with separate lightning rods, whose impulse grounding resistance shall not exceed 5Ω

Let’s take a look at some more standards (I haven’t seen them either, as I’m just helping you find them). SH3097-2000: Standards for the design of static electricity grounding in petrochemical industries; 03D501-4: Installation of grounding devices; 92DQ13: Lightning protection and grounding systems; GB17045-1997: General requirements for devices and equipment related to electric shock protection; GB50057-94: Standards for the lightning protection design of buildings; HGT20675-1990: Regulations for the design of static electricity grounding in chemical enterprises

And it can’t be avoided or hidden; it seems better to just put it on. Thank you, baby! Thank you all :)

You can’t offend such important organizations; just go to a design firm and have them handle the design and installation properly

I don’t think it’s necessary; good grounding is sufficient. Check the design specifications; if it’s mentioned there, add it. If not, argue your case accordingly.