Challenge
An Envent account manager received a call from a customer that prefers the use of internal combustion engines for tank degassing. And though Envent has a fleet of IC Engines, we use them for small tanks and vessels. The customer called to schedule a meeting to discuss using thermal oxidizers for tank degassing.

Solution
The customer indicated a serious incident that had taken place in the facility a few weeks earlier while a degassing company was performing vapor control on a gasoline storage tank. The issues swirled around a flash fire that occurred during the vapor control. Apparently the combination of a warm day, high vapor pressure, a swift breeze, and an open manway led to vapors being pulled from the tank and out into the tank basin. The puddling vapors ignited when a vehicle entering the tank basin passed through the vapors, causing a flash fire back to the tank. The flames continued to leap from the tank manway until extinguished by the fire department. It had been determined that the IC Engine pulling vapors from the tank could not pull fast enough to overcome the environmental conditions. Envent explained to the customer that the mid-sized EMTOS 3500 Thermal Oxidizer has a flow rate that averages seven times the flow rate of a dual IC Engine unit. Had the EMTOS 3500 been used to perform vapor control on the facility tank that caught fire, vapors would not have been released from the tank.

Benefit
Because thermal oxidizers flow so much better, vapors that would normally overload an IC Engine and be sent back to the tank can be routed straight to the thermal oxidizer. The EMTOS systems are specifically designed not to circulate vapors back to the source; be it a tank or vacuum truck or aeration basin. Envent’s thermal oxidizers and carbon scrubber systems receive and process all vapors the first time around. The customer stated one of his reasons for resisting using a thermal oxidizer for so long was due to the size of the equipment. The Envent account manager explained that for an IC Engine system to achieve the same flow rate, seven IC Engine units would be needed, therefore taking up much more room than one EMTOS 3500.