Tankcontainer for carriage of liquefied hydrocarbon gases, ammonia and petrochemical products

Abstract

 The tank container for liquefied hydrocarbon gas transportation by a transportation means does comprise a reservoir (1) with the liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge filling and disharge duct stub (9) for liquefied hydrocarbon gas with shutoff valves placed in the bottom part of the reservoir. A branch pipe (8) for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves is placed in the top part of the reservoir. A safety valve (3) located in the top part of the reservoir (1). The reservoir (1) is equipped with asecond filling and discharge duct stub (6) with shutoff valves and with a second branch pipe (10) for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves. The filling and discharge duct stubs with shutoff valves and banch pipes for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are grouped into two independent blocks where one of them is located in the top part of the reservoir, and the second one in the bottom part of the reservoir, accordingly. In the top and bottom part, lockable armature compartments (4,5) are arranged. The top compartment (4), the branch pipe (8) for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves and the second filling and discharge duct stub (6) with shutoff valves is placed, and in the bottom compartement (5), the filling and discharge duct stub (9) with shutoff valves and the second branch pipe (10) for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves is placed. The liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge is equipped with warning device (11) located in the bottom armature compartment (5), and the branch pipes(8,10) for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are equipped with the pressure gauges(12,13) mounted on them.The design of this thank container enables a quicker filling and discharging, and on top it allows to be connected to existing filling and discharge racks of different standards as used in the CIS countries on the one side, and in Western Europe and elsewhere on the other side. The high established saftety standards are neverthless being maintained.

Description

[0001] This invention pertains to the domain of liquefied hydrocarbon gases, ammonia and petrochemicals carriages with operable pumping and interim storage of them. The tank container renders it possible to fill in and discharge the liquefied hydrocarbon gases and petrochemicals while using the available specific tank car loading racks which are equipped with two hoses for filling and dischargeing the liquid phase and additionally one hose for the drainage of steam and medium in the gas phase in general.

[0002] In the state of the art, a tank container is known that is provided with a framemounted reservoir having a liquefied hydrocarbon gas filling and discharge duct stub at the top of reservoir with a seat for the loading and discharge flexible pipe fitting (see the utility model CN 201 180019, B65D 88/12, 14.01.2009).

[0003] Said tank container renders it possible to transport liquefied hydrocarbon gas by railway as well as by motor vehicle transport and by the other means of transportation. However, the tank filling and discharge operations through the single top duct stub take comparatively much time that narrows down the usability of the container.

[0004] The tank container which comes closest to this state of the art has a reservoir for transportation of liquefied hydrocarbon gas by transportation means and is equipped with the liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge and liquefied hydrocarbon gas filling and discharge duct stub with a shutoff valve at the bottom of the reservoir. The tank container also has the steam and gas phase of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas drainage branch pipe, which is located in the top part of the reservoir, and also the safety valve is located in the top part of the reservoir (see the Inventor's Certificate SU 1502895, F04C13/00, 23.08.1989).

[0005] However, this tank container offers only a low flow efficiency when carrying out the liquefied hydrocarbon gas filling and discharge operations. The capacity is limited due to the existing technology of the tank container filling when connecting the filling and discharge flexible pipe.

[0006] Both known prior art containers are, firstly, of a low flow efficiency when carrying out the liquefied hydrocarbon gas filling and discharge operations which is due to the existing technology which requires one filling and discharge flexible pipe for the liquid phase and one for the steam and gas phase, and secondarily - they can be used only at the tank loading racks, which have correspondingly either only the top or only the bottom filling and discharge capacities.

[0007] The task of this invention is directed to cutting shorter the tank container filling and discharge time. A further task is it to prevent the occurrence of emergency cases and the ensuring of safety of the personnel when carrying out the filling and discharge operations.

[0008] Besides, the tank container filling and discharge operations may be carried out at any rack, regardless of the filling and discharge method applied at the tank loading rack, the tank can be filled and discharged either from the top or from the bottom.

[0009] The technical result achieved by this invention is an increase of productivity when carrying out the liquefied hydrocarbon gas filling into the tank, and also the discharging from the tank container on the now available tank loading racks. At the same time, the required level of safety in the operation of the existing tank loading racks is being maintained. And ensured is the use of the tank loading racks for filling and dischargeing both the tank containers or railroad tank cars which are equipped with filling and discharge devices both for top or bottom filling and discharge.
The solution will essentially expand the sphere of application of the tank container and will allow to use the tank container for liquefied hydrocarbon gas transportation both in the CIS countries where, basically, tank loading racks are being used which are designed for the top filling and discharge, and across the countries of Europe, Asia and America, where the bottom filling and discharge method is being applied. Hence, the offered solution allowsit to avoid the introduction of modifications of the technological workflow of the filling and discharge rack elements and also the tank loading rack design as a whole, and the claimed tank container can therefore be used for the transnational carriage.

[0010] The specified task is to be solved and the technical result is reached due to the fact that this tank container for transportation purpose has the reservoir for transportation of liquefied hydrocarbon gas equipped with the liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge and liquefied hydrocarbon gas filling and discharge duct stub with shutoff valve in the reservoir bottom. The tank container also has a steam and gas phase of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas drainage branch pipe with shutoff valve, located in the top part of the reservoir and in the top part of the reservoir there is located a the safety valve. Additionally the said reservoir is now equipped with a second filling and discharge duct stub with shutoffvalves, and a second branch pipe for the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase drainage with shutoff valves. The filling and discharge duct stubs with shutoff valves and branch pipe for the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase drainage with shutoffvalves are grouped into two independent blocks. One of these blocks is located in the top part of the reservoir and the second one is placed in the bottom part of the reservoir, and they are both placed into the top and bottom lockable armature compartments respectively. The top block comprises the branch pipe for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves, and the second filling and discharge duct stub with shutoff valves, and the bottom block comprises the filling and discharge duct stub with shutoff valves, and the second branch pipe for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves. The liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge is equipped with a warning device located in the bottom armature compartments, and also the branch pipes for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are equipped with the pressure gages mounted on them.

[0011] A third duct stub for filling and discharge of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas liquid phase with shutoffvalves may be placed in top armature compartments.

[0012] The described tank container is schematically shown in the figure.

[0013] The tank container comprises the reservoir 1 equipped with the liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge which is not shown in the drawn figure since it is located in the interior of the reservoir 1. The reservoir 1 of the tank container for transportation of liquefied hydrocarbon gas by various means of transportation is mounted on a frame 2. A safety valve 3 is located in the top part of the reservoir 1. The top lockable armature compartment 4 and bottom lockable armature compartment 5 are located, accordingly, in the top part of the reservoir 1 and in the bottom part of the reservoir 1. The second 6 and and the third 7 duct stubs (if any) for filling and discharging of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas liquid phase with shutoff valves, and the branch pipe 8 for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are located in the top lockable armature compartment 4. The duct stub for filling and discharging of the gas liquid phase 9 with shutoff valves and the second branch pipe 10 for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves, as well as the warning device 11 of the liquefied hydrocarbongas level gauges, are located in the bottom lockable armature compartment 5. The branch pipes 8 and 10 for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are made with the pressure gauges mounted on them. The pressure gauge 12 for the branch pipe 8 is located in the top armature compartment 4, and the pressure gauge 13 for the branch pipe 10 is located in the bottom lockable armature compartment 5.

[0014] The tank container may be equipped wih a sun screen14 or shady shielding screen, further with a manhole 19 with lid, and an upper access platform with stairway 16 and one or several ladders 17 and additional safety valves of various principles of action. The liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauges warning devices can be mounted on both armature compartments 4, 5.

[0015] When the tank container reservoir 1 has to be filled or discharged, the tank container is moved to the filling and discharge rack, and the filling and discharge rack's flexible pipes are connected correspondingly to the duct stubs 6, 7, 8 in the top compartment, and the duct stubs 9 and 10 in the bottom compartment. That done, leak-proofness of the connection of all joints involved into the operation is inspected and liquefied hydrocarbon gas liquid phase is then discharged simultaneousely through the duct stubs 6 and 7 with shutoffvalves in case of a discharge rack with the top discharge, and through the duct stub 9 with shutoff valve in case of a discharge rack with the bottom discharge. The reservoir 1 may be filled with liquefied hydrocarbon gas liquid phase through the same duct stubs 6, 7 and 9. Hoses for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase are connected to duct stub 8 in case of filling and discharging from the top and to duct stub 10 in case of filling and discharging from the bottom, correspondingly.

[0016] In practical operation, it was shown that the tank container filling time was at least cut half as the result of use of the here proposed design. This was confirmed by pilot testing at the railway filling rack of CJSC "Syrt" of Orenburg helium refinery (Limited liability company "Orenburggazprom", Russia).

[0017] In addition, the claimed invention provides an opportunity to fill and discharge the tank containers at the railway racks both in the CIS countries and in the EU countries without introducing expensive changes into the technological chain and the racks' design. It becomes possible since the existing filling railway racks for liquefied hydrocarbon gases loading are equipped, as a rule and standard, with two hoses for loading of the liquid phase and with one hose for the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase.

[0018] The present utility model can be used in the oil and gas, petrochemical and other industries where liquefied hydrocarbon gas and petrochemicals need to be transported.

Claims

1. A tank container for the transportation of liquefied hydrocarbon gas, ammonia and petrochemical products by a transportation means, comprising:

a reservoir (1) with the liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge, a filling and

discharge duct stub (9) for liquefied hydrocarbon gas with shutoff valves placed in the bottom part of the reservoir (1), and a branch pipe (8) for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves placed in the top part of the reservoir (1), and a safety valve (3) located in the top part of the reservoir (1),

characterized in that
the reservoir (1) is equipped with at least a second filling and discharge duct stub (6) with shutoff valves and a second branch pipe (10) for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves, wherein the filling and
discharge duct stubs (9,6) with shutoff valves and branch pipes (8,10) for drainage of the hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are grouped into two independent blocks, where one of them is located in the top part of the reservoir (1) and the second one is placed in the bottom part of the reservoir (1) accordingly, the blocks being arranged correspondingly in the the top and bottom lockable armature compartments (4,5), wherein the top block comprises the branch pipe (8) for drainage of liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves and the second filling and discharge duct stub (6) with shutoff valves, and the bottom block comprises the filling and discharge duct stub (9) with shutoff valves and the second branch pipe (10) for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves, wherein
the liquefied hydrocarbon gas level gauge is equipped with a warning device (11) located in the bottom armature compartment (5), and the branch pipes (8, 10) for drainage of the liquefied hydrocarbon gas steam and gas phase with shutoff valves are equipped with a pressure gauges (12,13) mounted on them.

2. The tank container according to claim 1, characterized in that there is a third duct stub (7) for filling and discharge of liquefied hydrocarbon gas liquid phase with shutoff valves placed in the top compartment (4).

Drawing