In coastal environments, humidity and salt permeate the air, causing corrosion, rust and pitting of metal surfaces, which is why a leading liquid storage terminal in Savannah, Georgia, chose an exterior protective coating system from Tnemec to provide a longer service life for several new steel tanks. “The coatings they were using would crack and fail after five years,” according to Tnemec coating consultant Dan Anderson. “Since switching to Tnemec coatings, the Colonial Terminals is seeing much longer life cycles.”
The project consisted of seven new storage tanks ranging in size from 150 feet in diameter by 48-feet high to 120 feet in diameter by 41-feet high. The exterior of each tank was prepared in accordance with SSPC-SP6/NACE No. 3 Commercial Blast Cleaning and shop-primed with Series 90-97 Tneme-Zinc, a two-component, moisture-cured, zinc-rich aromatic urethane. The primer was spray-applied requiring nearly 1,000 gallons for all seven tanks.
Next, the steel was shipped to the terminal job site, where it was erected and field-applied with an intermediate coat of Series 66 Hi-Build Epoxoline, a polyamide epoxy, followed by a topcoat of Series 1074 Endura-Shield II, an aliphatic acrylic polyurethane. Series 1074 is highly resistant to abrasion, wet conditions, corrosive fumes and exterior weathering. Approximately 1,500 gallons of Series 66 and 1,500 gallons of Series 1074 were used on the seven tanks.
Throughout the duration of the project, Anderson and his staff carefully monitored work on the tanks during weekly visits to the terminal facility, which contains more than 150 steel tanks.
“They’re very pleased with the way the coating system is performing,” Anderson added. “It’s turned out so well that they keep giving us more and more tanks to coat. We’ve provided coatings for three or four existing tanks and as well as a few tank interiors. We’ve become the terminal manager’s go-to people.”
Colonial Terminals is a privately held company headquartered on more than 100 acres of Savannah River frontage. The terminal provides storage and distribution services for liquid and dry bulk products, including bulk chemicals, motor fuels, industrial fuel oil and retail gasoline.