Secondary Containment System
Preventing Soil Contamination in the Petroleum Industry Through Secondary Containment
Storage tanks holding as much as 10 millions liters of industrial solution, often hydrocarbons, require the use of secondary basins or firewalls capable of containing accidental spills resulting from a leak or rupture, to prevent contamination of the soil.
The role of these secondary containment basins in the safe and ecological protection of the soil is obvious. In most instances, firewalls produced of Polyethylene Geomembranes are required by the country’s environmental laws or by the producer himself.
In the Middle East, the standards are more stringent than ever, now requiring the installation of impervious membranes wherever activities involving ecologically hazardous liquids are carried out, in gas stations for instance, or petroleum stockyards.
Secondary Containment Typical Cross-Section
Our Recommendations:
Polyethylene Geomembranes are generally used in secondary containment applications. Their properties are suitable for this type of construction. In the events of leaks, pumping systems must be available to recover the solution.
Our Solutions:
Based on prevailing local standards and the technical requirements of engineers, specifications for secondary containments projects in the petroleum sector.
AEC suggests the use of smooth or textured High Density (HDPE) Geomembranes in thicknesses of 1.5mm to 3.0mm.
The following lists a few references in the Middle East :
- QATAR: EPIC Of Mesaieed Tank Farm Upgrade – Phase II, (200,000m²/HDPE 1.5mm).
- QATAR: Oryx GTL Ras Laffan Project, (60,000m²/HDPE 2.0mm).
- QATAR: Dolphin Ras Laffan Project, (200,000m²/HDPE 1.5mm).
- QATAR: Ras Laffan refinery Project, (50,000m²/HDPE 2.0mm).
- QATAR: EPIC of Mesaieed Tank Farm Project – GTC 173, (150,000m²/HDPE 1.5mm).
- UAE: OGD-III Condensate Storage Tanks Project, (80,000m²/HDPE 2.0mm).
- UAE: COS Tank Bund Stabilization and Fire Water Drainage, (70,000m²/HDPE 3.0mm).