TANKER TRUCK LOADING/UNLOADING RACK. OIL PRODUCT LOADING STATIONS

A tanker truck loading/unloading rack is a structure placed near a road and equipped with handling facilities, which ensures loading or unloading operations of oil products in tanker trucks. Filling of tanker truck with oil products is a technological process, and its safety must be ensured by means of a workable and effective fire extinguishing system.

The Pozhneftehim, a Russian manufacturer of firefighting equipment and foam concentrates, a developer of standard and individual design solutions for fire safety, implements two fire extinguishing systems for tanker truck loading rack:
1. low expansion foam fire extinguishing system with a fluorosynthetic film-forming agent and Antifire universal water/foam nozzles with oscillators;
2. medium expansion foam fire extinguishing system with synthetic foam concentrate and Turbopen universal foam generators with oscillators.

In the section we consider the regulatory requirements for fire extinguishing systems and firefighting equipment and foam concentrates produced by Pozhneftehim for fire protection of filling stations.

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Tanker truck loading: fire extinguishing system requirements

The requirements for fire extinguishing systems (fire extinguishing installations) are contained in the following documents:

1. Recommendations. Loading/unloading racks for flammable, combustible liquids and liquefied petroleum gases. Fire safety requirements. Moscow, 2007;
2. SP 155.13130.2012 Warehouses for oil and oil products. Fire safety requirements (with Amendment No 1).

The main provisions of regulatory documents on fire safety:

• for loading/unloading racks and devices for railway tanker cars and road tank trucks at Warehouses of categories I and II, stationary fire extinguishing installations (non-automatic) should be provided (clause 13.2.4 of SP 155.13130.2012, clause 6.4.70 of SP 4.13130.2013);
• at Warehouses of category I and II for cooling tanker trucks and handling facilities, stationary fire monitors (manual, remotely controlled or oscillating) should be provided (section 5.8 - Recommendations. Loading/unloading racks <...>);
• for loading/unloading racks and devices for railway tanker cars and road tank trucks at Warehouses of category III, fire extinguishing should be provided for using mobile fire extinguishing means (clause 13.2.6 of SP 155.13130.2012, clause 6.4.72 of SP 4.13130.2013);
• the costs of fire extinguishing agents should be determined based on the intensity of their application per 1 m² of the estimated area for extinguishing oil and oil products. The estimated extinguishing area should be taken equal to the area of the site occupied with filling posts for tanker trucks, but not more than 800 m² (clause 13.2.11 of SP 155.13130.2012, clause 6.4.76 of SP 4.13130.2013);
• at Warehouses of oil and oil products it is necessary to provide for firefighting with air-mechanical foam of low and/or medium expansion (clause A.1 of SP 155.13130.2012); the estimated costs of the foam concentrate solution should be taken in accordance with tables A.1 and A.2 of SP 155.13130.2012;
• the response time of stationary fire extinguishing systems should not exceed 3 minutes (clause A.4 of SP 155.13130.2012, clause 6.4.95 of SP 4.13130.2013);
• for fire extinguishing system, foam generators, foam drains and foam chambers that have passed industrial fire tests and are recommended for use in the prescribed manner should be used (clause A.7 of SP 155.13130.2012, clause 6.4.98 of SP 4.13130.2013);
• storage of the foam concentrate for fire extinguishing systems should be provided in concentrated form (clause A.10 of SP 155.13130.2012, clause 6.4.101 of SP 4.13130.2013).

Design of fire extinguishing systems for tanker truck loading racks

The requirements of regulatory documents on fire safety of tanker trucks loading differ on the need to equip tanker truck racks with fire monitors: SP 155.13130.2012 obliges to provide monitors on railway racks only. This is due to the fact that the train includes many tanks located at a minimum distance from each other, and the volume of each one is large. Thus, the fire hazard of railway racks is much higher and the requirement for the installation of fire monitors for extinguishing and cooling tanks and metal structures adjacent to the burning one is justified.

When choosing foam generators, we recommend taking into account the requirements of clause A.7 of SP 155.13130.2012 and clause 6.4.98 of SP 4.13130.2013: foam generators that have passed industrial fire tests should be used for a fire extinguishing system. According to experts, GPS generators of medium expansion foam common in Soviet times on loading/unloading racks and still used in some projects have a number of drawbacks:

• low heat resistance and loss of performance after exposure to high temperatures;
• small area of irrigation map
• significant wind influence on the path of the foam jet.

From GPS-600 certificate (2007): “When foam emerges from the generator, direct the foam stream to the burning bed. To prevent the destruction of grids, it is forbidden to place the generator into the high temperature zone prior to foam or water jets appear from the nozzle".

With 3 min standard response time of the fire extinguishing system, it is impossible to withstand this requirement. In the event of a fire, a stationary GPS installed above the neck of a tanker truck may lose functionality even before firefighting begins.

We recommend using Antifire universal water foam nozzles or Turbopen universal foam generators manufactured by Pozhneftehim instead of traditional GPS.

	Antifire UVPN is resistant to high temperatures and allows you to configure the irrigation map to protect the truck loading rack, due to which a large coverage area is provided during firefighting. Antifire UVPN may have a nominal flow rate of 5, 10, 15 and 20 l/s and a nominal pressure in the range of 0.6-1.2 MPa (on request starting from 0.3 MPa).
	Turbopen UGP in its technical characteristics is comparable to the Antifire UVPN, but it delivers medium expansion foam. Turbopen UGP is recommended for use in the reconstruction of truck loading racks with fire extinguishing installations based on synthetic foam concentrates of S type according to GOST R 50588 and GPS.

We draw attention to the inadmissibility of using prefilled mortar pipelines, since all foam concentrates certified in Russia must be biodegradable, i.e. they must break down to simple compounds under the influence of air, sunlight and microorganism activity. When any foam concentrate is kept in pipelines for three months, the solution loses its fire extinguishing effectiveness due to microorganisms living in water. Tanker truck loading stations (posts) are hooked up to the stationary fire extinguishing system of the oil product storage, of which they are part. If this is not possible, the Vityaz foam fire extinguishing block-container with a foam concentrate proportioning system may be used.

Requirements for fire equipment and foam concentrate to use in fire extinguishing of tanker truck loading racks.

The Pozhneftehim produces fire equipment and foam concentrate for fire extinguishing systems for tanker truck loading stations (posts):

• foam concentrates such as AFFF, AFFF/AR, S, S/AR;
• low and medium expansion foam generators;
• fire monitors;
• foam concentrate proportioners;
• auxiliary equipment (fire filters, fire stabilizers, fire hydrant manifolds, etc.);
• block-containers for fire suppression (modular buildings with proportioning systems and pumping stations).

Many types of foam generators currently lack national standards.

Product quality assurance for the Customer is the availability of an accredited test equipment manufacturer for firefighting equipment and foam concentrates for testing.

Before ordering firefighting products, check that the supplier has the following documents available:

license of the Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation for installation, maintenance and repair of fire safety equipment for buildings and structures (for modular buildings);

SRO certificate of admission to the preparation of draft measures to ensure fire safety of capital construction projects, including especially dangerous and technically complex ones (for modular buildings);

certificate of quality system ISO 9001;

certificates of the National Agency for Welding Control (NAKS);

certificate of conformity issued by an accredited body of EMERCOM of Russia;

certificate (declaration) for compliance with TR TS 032/2013 for a bladder tank;

safety justification (OB) specified in clause 45 of the TR TS 032/2013 for a bladder tank;

certificate of compliance with the requirements of GOST 30546.1-98, GOST 30546.2-98, GOST 30546.2-98 (earthquake resistance 9 points on the MSK-64 scale) for a bladder tank (if necessary);

justifying calculation of the corrosion rate of the bladder tanks inner surface made by an accredited organization (for bladder tanks);

manufacturer’s written confirmation that a customer representative can conduct production inspection and take part in acceptance tests.

Contact information to order Pozhneftehim complex supplies

Questions concerning the choice of foam concentrates for fire extinguishing

Tatyana Potapenko, foam project manager +7 (499) 703 01 32, ext.172

Questions concerning the choice of firefighting equipment

Sergey Vypritsky, Project Manager +7 (499) 703 01 32, ext.153

Questions on documentation regarding Fire safety measures (MOPB) and Special technical conditions (STU)

Sergey Titenkov, Head of Regulatory and Technical Department +7 (499) 703 01 32, ext.159

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