Millwright Project Example
Sulfuric Acid Tank Removal
Sulfuric Acid Tank Removal
The Challenge.
The client had an aging chemical tank that was used for sulfuric acid storage. Over time, the acid had eaten away the steel from the inside, rendering it unsafe for continued use.
The building structure housing the tank was built around the tank after it was originally installed. As a result, the tank was too large to remove through the overhead door at the end of the building.
The Solution.
In order to remove the huge tank, Wheelhouse techs cut it up by torch into manageable sections, removed it from the building, and then hauled the scrap steel sections away. Prior to the demolition, the surrounding structure required fireproofing protection. Water was used to cool the tank during the torch-cutting process. The photos in the gallery show various stages of the 2-day demo project.
This 17,000-gallon tank weighed close to 50,000 lbs when new and had been reduced to just 30,000 lbs of scrap steel over its lifetime. The thickness of the walls had dropped from 1/2” to 1/8” – a full 40% of the tank’s original mass had been lost from the acid’s corrosion.
Two new 11,000-gallon poly tanks will be installed to replace the old steel tank.
