TAGS: Marine / Protective Coatings
Advanced Polymer Coating’s (APC) MarineLINE® ship tank coating system has become the first protective lining to be approved onto Shell’s Cargo Handling Sheet to transport mono ethylene glycol (MEG).
Transportation of Benzene & MEG Without Cross-contamination
APC marine manager Captain Onur Yildirim said the approval follows a rigorous nine-month study. He said the laboratory tests undertaken by chemists at APC and Shell proved that a coating can transport a cargo of benzene followed by a cargo MEG without cross-contamination.
Previously under Shell’s Cargo Handling Sheet, which is used for vessels chartered on behalf of Shell, tanker operators were not allowed to load MEG into lined tanks due to the risk of contamination. As a result, only tankers with stainless steel tanks could transport MEG.
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We are grateful to Shell for giving us this opportunity to demonstrate MarineLINE®’s capabilities. The testing, independently verified by the quality assurance company Intertek for Shell, showed that MarineLINE®’s low absorption characteristics enable it to transport these two chemicals without cross-contamination,” said Yildirim.
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We tested for benzene as it is a cargo that can absorb easily into tank linings. But the MarineLINE® performed robustly and did not absorb the benzene, which ensured the MEG cargo’s purity. This underlines why MarineLINE® is unique in the coatings market for its ability to transport highly aggressive chemicals without absorption enabling operators to switch grades frequently,” he added.
Source: Advanced Polymer Coatings