Problems with the vent condenser of the methanol storage tank
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Today I saw a methanol storage tank with a vent condenser, which seemed a bit strange. The storage tank is a cone-shaped roof tank, not a floating roof, and it doesn’t have a nitrogen seal; however, it is equipped with a vent condenser. I wonder what the advantages of this setup are – I think it should result in high energy consumption.
The condenser is installed to reduce evaporation; by utilizing the ample flow rate of the cooling water system, energy consumption does not necessarily increase.
I know. The question is: what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a condenser compared to a nitrogen seal or a floating roof? I think the investment required for this is also considerable
As for investment, the nitrogen sealing system also requires a floating roof, a nitrogen supply source, as well as a combined device for nitrogen sealing.
But isn’t nitrogen sealing sufficient for methanol? I’ve seen few methanol condensers configured in that way; perhaps it’s due to stricter environmental regulations
A floating roof in a small tank is actually sufficient; choose a good sealing material for the floating disk
It’s possible that the manufacturer doesn’t have a nitrogen supply, so they came up with this method to reduce evaporation. Actually, I’ve also seen on the internet that in tank areas equipped with nitrogen sealing systems, the concentration of materials in the air is equally high.
Nitrogen sealing does not significantly reduce steam evaporation; I think it’s mainly for safety, to isolate air
1. Using nitrogen sealing is primarily for safety reasons, to prevent methanol vapor from mixing with air in the methanol storage tank and reaching an explosive level. 2. The addition of a condenser may be due to the high temperature of methanol in this tank, resulting in high vaporization rates.