Protect Tanks Against Overpressure and Vacuum

Industry personnel often perceive low-pressure tanks as being less dangerous than pressure vessels, particularly due to their less stringent standards for design and construction.  However, this approach overlooks the fact that a typical low-pressure tank can often contain more material and be more easily opened to the atmosphere in response to a process upset when compared with a typical pressure vessel.  This paper will discuss types of safeguards to prevent overpressure and vacuum of low-pressure tanks, identify the strengths and weaknesses of these safeguards using consequence modeling techniques where applicable, and recommend overall safeguarding strategies in order to best utilize the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of the available safeguards.