ISO TANK (tank container) is a stainless steel pressure vessel installed in a fastened external frame. The inner liner of the tank is mostly made of 316 stainless steel. Most tank containers have steam or electric heating devices, inert gas protection devices, pressure relief devices and other optional equipment required for fluid transportation and loading and unloading.

Introduction

A container used to transport liquid goods such as wine, oil, liquid food, and chemicals. It is mainly composed of a liquid tank and a frame. The liquid tank is elliptical or nearly spherical and adopts a double-layer structure. The inner wall is made of stainless steel; or made of other rigid materials, but a layer of epoxy resin needs to be coated to prevent corrosion of liquid cargo. The outer wall is made of insulation material. Generally, there is a circular loading port on the top of the tank and a discharge valve on the bottom of the tank. There are several types of high-pressure liquid tanks, low-pressure liquid tanks, insulated liquid tanks, and liquid tanks with heating devices. The frame is made of high-strength steel, and the liquid tank is placed in the middle of the frame. The handling, loading, unloading and storage of tank containers all require a certain special place and are equipped with special fire safety equipment.

The tank body is surrounded by corner load-bearing frames for protection and lifting. The external frame size of the tank container is exactly the same as the size of the international standard 20 container (20 feet long, 8 feet wide, 8 feet high). It can be used for road, rail and water transportation. It can load up to 14,300 to 31,000 liters (or even larger) of fluid cargo.

Classification

The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG) classify such tanks into the following categories:

(I) IMO Type 0: for transporting non-dangerous goods with a flash point exceeding 61°C, non-toxic and non-corrosive goods, goods not on the international enforcement agency's embargo list, and liquid foods. However, alcoholic beverages with a flash point exceeding 21°C or an alcohol content exceeding 25% should be transported in IMO Type 1 tank containers and unloaded from the bottom of the tank.

(ii) IMO Type 1 Dangerous Goods Tank Container, with a maximum permissible working pressure of 1.75 bar or more, for transporting liquid chemicals with a flash point below 0°C, certain highly toxic or corrosive chemicals, self-igniting goods, goods that are dangerous when wet, goods that oxidize on their own, and liquid goods whose sealing pressure does not exceed the allowable pressure of the tank. For tanks for transporting corrosive and unstable goods, special steel materials must be used and necessary linings must be considered. The sum of the water vapor pressure in the tank at 65"C and other partial pressures caused by it and 0.35 kg/cm² is not allowed to exceed the design pressure of the tank. Materials can be unloaded from the bottom or top of the tank. (iii) IMO Type 2 Sub-Dangerous Goods Tank Container, with a maximum permissible working pressure of more than 1.0 bar and less than 1.75 bar, for transporting liquid goods with a flash point of 0°C to 61°C and no other hazards, certain dangerous, toxic or corrosive chemicals, and liquid goods with a sealing pressure lower than 172.4 kPa but not exceeding the allowable working pressure of the tank. Materials can be unloaded from the bottom of the tank.

(iv) IMO Type 4 Road tank trucks equipped with type 1 or type 2 tanks.

(V) IMO type 5 Liquid gas tank containers, used to transport non-refrigerated liquefied gas or less dangerous chemicals at room temperature, unloading from the bottom of the tank.

(VI) IMO type 6 Road tank trucks equipped with type 5 tanks.

(VII) IMO type 7 Refrigerated liquefied gas tank containers with insulation, used to transport refrigerated liquefied gas or low-temperature liquefied gas and liquid perishable goods that require temperature control, unloading from the bottom of the tank.

(VIII) IMO type 8 Road tank trucks equipped with type 7 tanks. The portable tank container guideline applies to dangerous goods that are allowed to be transported in portable tank containers. Each portable tank container guideline consists of the English letter T and Arabic numerals (T1 to -175). Each guideline represents a technical specification.

Advantages

In addition to all the advantages of containerized transportation, compared with the transportation method of "several drums loaded into a standard dry cargo container", it has many advantages such as economical, fast, safe, environmentally friendly, and beautiful.

1. Economical:

For example, a 20-foot container (24,000 liters) can load 45% more liquid cargo than a 20-foot standard dry cargo container full of drums. That is, "more shipments for the same freight", thereby reducing the land and sea transportation costs of each unit of cargo. In addition, the use of tank containers can save the purchase and disposal costs of drums. These are two direct cost savings in the transportation process.

2. Fast:

The use of tank containers will not have expensive and time-consuming small barrels for filling and loading and unloading. The transportation mode can be directly converted between road, rail, and water transportation, and the operation is simple and fast, and it can be done in one step. It can truly achieve "door-to-door" transportation.

3. Increased safety:

Tank container transportation is internationally recognized as the safest way to transport chemicals and foods. In the process of distributing and transporting chemicals and foods to various places, compared with other methods, this is a unique means of transportation that does not leak, escape, or contaminate the goods themselves.

Fourth, it is more environmentally friendly, more beautiful, and gives customers a good impression: The relevant laws of Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries stipulate that some goods must be transported in tank containers, and barrel transportation is prohibited. This shows the superiority of tank containers as a means of transportation and their international popularity. China has joined the WTO, and with the gradual integration with the international community. This mode of transportation that does not pollute the environment will surely become popular in China.