Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Diverse fluid containing pressure filling systems involving... – Filling with exhausting the receiver
Patent
1998-05-13
2000-09-19
Jacyna, J. Casimer
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Diverse fluid containing pressure filling systems involving...
Filling with exhausting the receiver
141 46, 141 7, 141255, 141263, 141266, 141290, 137208, 137210, 137533, 137587, B67D 504
Patent
active
061197351
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method of filling with a volatile liquid at least one tank of a multi-tank installation. The invention further relates to a multi-tank installation for storing volatile liquids, and also to a valve for use in such a multi-tank installation.
Though this invention may be used with a variety of volatile liquids, it find particular application in the filling of underground storage tanks for petrol, as commonly provided at a petrol filling station for motor vehicles. Consequently the invention will be hereinafter be described expressly with reference to that application, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to that application.
The usual arrangement at a petrol filling station having a plurality of underground storage tanks is for each tank to have a respective fill pipe through which the tank may be filled with petrol off-loaded from a road tanker. Each tank has a respective first vent pipe, the first vent pipes of all of the tanks being connected together and to a common air egress and inlet pipe provided with a so-called pressure-and-vacuum valve to permit the ingress of air when the pressure within the tanks falls below some pre-set value, as well as releasing excess pressure. This permits the pumping of fuel out of any of the tanks, when demanded by a petrol pump for delivery to a vehicle, as well as safety during the off-loading of petrol from a tanker.
All of the tanks also have a further common vent pipe which is normally closed off but which is connected to a vapour recovery system provided on the road tanker when a delivery of petrol is being made to a tank. The vapour recovery system applies a low level of suction to the further vent pipe as a delivery is being made, to draw air laden with petrol vapour from the tank being filled and to return that vapour to a tank of the road tanker.
It will be appreciated that with the above described arrangement, petrol vapour driven from a tank being filled is returned to the road tanker. Though the volume of petrol vapour recovered in this way on filling any one tank may not be very high, and typically equivalent to only a liter or so of liquid petrol, over a period of time when a considerable number of tanks have been filled, there is a significant marginal loss to a site operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide both a method of filling one tank of a multi-tank installation and also apparatus suitable for use in performing such a method, whereby the vapour recovered by a road tanker during the act of filling a tank is minimised, to the advantage of the site operator.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of filling with a volatile liquid at least one tank of a multi-tank installation, wherein there is associated with each tank a vent pipe to permit the ingress of air to the respective tank during tank emptying and the extraction of vapour during tank filling, in which method the vent pipes of all of the tanks are connected together at least for an initial stage of tank filling, and when the pressure within the or each tank being filled reaches a pre-determined value, the vent pipe of the or each tank being filled is connected to an extraction mechanism for said vapour.
With this aspect of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the ullage space of each tank of an entire multi-tank installation is used to accommodate the increasing pressure as any one tank of the installation is being filled. Only once the pressure in all of the tanks has risen to some pre-determined value will the vent pipe of the tank being filled be connected to an extraction mechanism for the vapour, such as the vapour recovery system of a road tanker off-loading petrol into the tank being filled. If only one tank is being filled and there is a significant ullage space in all of the tanks, it is possible that the pressure within all of those tanks will not rise sufficiently for the vent pipe of the tank be
REFERENCES:
patent: 3672180 (1972-06-01), Davis
patent: 3807433 (1974-04-01), Byrd
patent: 3915205 (1975-10-01), Wagner et al.
patent: 5289857 (1994-03-01), Pyles
patent: 5305807 (1994-04-01), Healy
patent: 5332008 (1994-07-01), Todd et al.
Briggs & Stratton Corporation
Jacyna J. Casimer
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