The Challenge

The main challenge of the project consisted of the complete degassing and inerting of 6 floating roof tanks containing 95 and 98 gasoline located in the EPT of Cartagena Repsol Refinery. Preventing the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere and guaranteeing the absence of explosiveness during subsequent maintenance work.

Consequently, this allowed Repsol to undertake maintenance work without the need to clean and take the tanks out of service.

DOMINION's +

Our team installed a portable gas combustion system (VCU) through which emissions are suctioned out and eliminated, mainly Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted by gasoline in the tanks. Likewise, in parallel, the inerting of all the tanks was carried out by injecting nitrogen with a nitrogen generator until reaching an internal atmosphere below 8% oxygen, which was preserved throughout the maintenance operation. Both devices are designed and manufactured by DOMINION.

Repsol wanted to prevent gas emissions that could generate an explosive atmosphere, both during the emptying of the tanks and during subsequent maintenance work. Therefore, the most important was to maintain an anoxic atmosphere inside the tank, as well as to remove most of the VOCs generated during storage and emptying of gasoline through controlled combustion.

Results

Repsol has been able to carry out the maintenance work in the tanks within a safe atmosphere while avoided VOC emissions into the atmosphere.