Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Means compensating earth-transmitted force – Relative motion means between a structure and its foundation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-12
2001-03-13
Chilcot, Richard (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Means compensating earth-transmitted force
Relative motion means between a structure and its foundation
C052S192000, C052S245000, C220S506000, C220S565000, C405S053000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199329
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a liquid storage system, comprising a storage tank and a surrounding bund, for the storage of liquid products, particularly petroleum and its derivatives, and is designed to reduce the contaminated area around the tank with a view to reducing the cost of treating wastes and rainwater.
PRIOR ART
Storage tanks are widely used in the oil industry and are essential to the functioning of an operational unit. They may be used for example for the storage of crude oil, intermediate products and final products.
The surrounding area around a tank is protected by a dam built around the immediate surroundings to the tank in order to contain the total volume of fluid stored in the tank in the event of an accident. Together with the outside wall of the tank, this dam bounds a region known as a bund. For the drainage of the wastes produced when it is cleaned, such a tank will also have a system consisting of gutters which drain the wastes to a drainage system which carries the fluid to a water separation system. When rainwater collects in the bund, this water will come into contact with any stored such wastes which may already be deposited in the bund.
Thus all such collected contaminated water has to be treated in order to separate it from any contaminating waste, before it can be subsequently discharged into the stormwater drain system. Normally a very large volume of water has to be treated because the bund is of large area. This treatment is quite expensive and represents a considerable portion of the operating and maintenance costs for an operating unit.
The present invention aims to make it possible to reduce the area of the bund which is likely to become contaminated, bringing about a substantial reduction in the volume of water which has to be treated, which appreciably reduces the costs of operating and maintaining operating units.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is characterised by the features of claim
1
. Such a system makes it possible to reduce the volume of contaminated water needing treatment by units for the production and storage of contaminating fluids. This reduction is preferably enhanced by ensuring that the area bounded by the auxiliary dam is very much smaller than the total area bounded by the main dam. This limited area is then used as a service area which collects all the water which contains contaminants from the tank, and only this smaller volume of water has to be treated in order to be dischargable to the stormwater drain system.
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patent: 2 553 457 (1985-04-01), None
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Witter Aldyr
Witter Roger V.
Chilcot Richard
Nixon & Vanderhye PC
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras
Witter Roger V.
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