Transcaer Ammonia Training 2011Transports IG Rev10

8/19/2019 Transcaer Ammonia Training 2011Transports IG Rev10

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TRANACAER ® Anhydrous Ammonia Course Ver 2.0 1

Section 2: Anhydrous Ammonia Cargo Trailers, Nurse Tanks andStraight Trucks/Bobtails 60 min.

Lesson Goal After completing this lesson, the student shall have the knowledge and skills tohelp them respond to cargo, nurse tank, or straight truck emergencies involvinganhydrous ammonia safely and efficiently.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this section, the student should be able to:

1. Anhydrous Ammonia Cargo Trailers

a.

Explain construction features of a MC 331 anhydrous ammonia cargotank

b.

Explain examples of internal valves and emergency controls for anMC 331 cargo tank

c.

Describe examples of loading and unloading valves found on an MC331 cargo tank

d.

Explain the difference between a tank pressure gauge and a tankvolume gauge

e.

Describe additional safety features such as break away plumbing and

remote emergency shut-offs2.

Bobtailsa. Describe equipment used for delivery of ammoniab.

Describe the capacities of bobtail tanks

3.

Nurse Tanks

a.

Explain construction features of an anhydrous ammonia nurse tankb. Describe nurse tank valves and shutoffsc. Understand some hazards associated with nurse tank ruptures


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I. CARGO TRAILERS, NURSE TANKS AND STRAIGHT TRUCKS

Instructor Note: The purpose of this sectionis to introduce students to the cargo trailer,nurse tank and straight truck as a mode ofdelivering anhydrous ammonia. This module ismeant to be primarily a hands on module, butthe powerpoint presentation is used toprepare for the hands-on review or to coverequipment that may not be on site

A.

Course Objectives

1.

You won’t be an expert after this 1

hour course

2. Understand the different types oftransport containers

3. Describe emergency controls on anMC331 cargo tank, straight

truck(bobtail) or nurse tank

4.

Describe the valves and gauges ontransports

B.

MC-331 Cargo Tanks/NurseTanks/Straight Trucks/Bobtails

1.

MC 331 cargo tanks are the only

DOT specification tank suitable foranhydrous ammonia

a. They are pressure codedvessels

b.

Built to a working capacity of265 psig


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2.

Straight Trucks/Bobtails

a.

Equipped with hoses forintercity delivery

b. Straight trucks/bobtails are

usually less than 3,500 watergallons capacity

c.

Deliveries are usually madewith a 1” hose

3.

Transports are limited by weightrestrictions on the highway

a. Typically 80,000 lbs is

maximum weightb.

Water gallon capacity rangesfrom 3500 gallons to 15,000gallons

c. Typical range is 8,000-12,000 gallons capacity

4. Transports can be unloaded fromthe center belly or rear of the

trailer – not all trailers can beunloaded from both locations

5.

Nurse tanks come in variousconfigurations for agriculturalapplications in various parts of thecountry.

a.

Differences in tank size andmounting apparatus may be

dictated by the type of localterrain on which these areused.

b.

May be mounted on a truckchassis or single or dual tankconfiguration on trailers, andmay incorporate applicators.


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6.

Trailers “Sweat”

a.

There is a strong possibilitythat the trailer will sweat ordrop moisture on the ground

b. Common when the productinside the container is colderthan the outside temperature

c. Works on the same principalas moisture collecting on theoutside of a glass with iceand a drink in it

d. Similar to dropping moisture

like the air conditioning in acar

C. MC 331 Internal Valves andEmergency Controls

1.

MC 331 tanks with greater than3500 gallons of water capacitymust have two means of

automatically closing internalvalves; thermal and mechanical

a.

They must be mounteddiagonally opposite fromeach other

b. Generally left front (driverside) and right rear(passenger side)

c.

May be by air or cabled.

Valves will use fusible plugsor links that will open at 250degrees or less


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2.

Loading Materials

a.

To get materials loaded orunloaded the internalvalve(s) have to be opened

b. The driver or operator wouldperform this function

c.

These valves are called theinternal/excess flow valve

d.

It is designed to close in theevent of a leak in the

delivery hose

3.

Emergency Shut-offs - Air Actuated

a.

The internal valve has

remote shut-offb. Top left picture is an air

activated emergency shut-off

c.

Push the red handle downand air will be released,closing the internal valve

d.

The bottom right picture isan air activated shut down

valvee.

Emergency shut-offs arelocated at the driver frontand passenger rear of thetrailer


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f.

The driver or operator wouldhopefully engage on theirway out of the area in anemergency

g. Since there are two locations

for the shut-offs, respondersmay be able to engage oneof the shut-offs if they areupwind from the leak

4. Emergency Shut-offs - CableOperated

a. For cable operated remoteshut-offs - pull the ringhandle straight out to stretcha cable which will close theinternal valve

b.

These are also actuated withfusible links

c.

In the event of a fire, thefusible link would melt andactivate either a spring that

would expand and engagethe lever, or it would releaseair, actuating the shut-off

5.

Additional Examples of EmergencyControls

a.

Cable operated remote shut-off. Pull the red handle atthe front driver side of the

tank


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b.

Rear passenger side remoteshut-off is cable operated,you would pull the redhandle out to actuate it

c. Air activated remote shut-offat the rear passenger side.Flip the red handle down andair would be released closingthe internal valve

d.

This is an example of afusible link. In case of fire,the fusible link would meltand either activate a springthat would expand and

engage the lever or wouldrelease air, actuating theshut-off

e.

Examples of fusible links


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D.

Loading Valves/Unloading Valves/Gauges

1.

Loading Gates

a.

Some trailers are equipped

with loading gates (or Dixiegates) that prevent hosesfrom being hooked to theinlet lines

b. These gates are attached toan air brake valve that locksthe brakes on the trailer

c.

Prevents the trailer from

being moved when the gateis in the down position

2. Loading/Unloading Valves

a. Unloading methods may beby pump, compressor or acombination of both

b.

For a pump unload, youwould use a 1” or 2” liquidline connection

c.

There would also be a vaporline (usually 1” or less indiameter) used to equalizepressures for the pump tounload

d.

For a compressor delivery,you have both a liquid and

vapor line connection


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e.

Vapors from the receivingtank would be compressedand pressure added to thetrailer to create a pressuredifferential to move product

from the trailer to thereceiving tank

3.

Pressure and Tank Volume Gauges

a.

Pressure gauges will showthe pressure of the ammoniaon the inside of the trailer

b. Volume gauges show theliquid level in the trailer

c.

You would need to know theoverall size of the trailer inwater gallon capacity inorder to determine thequantity in the unit, forexample, a gauge reading50% = 50% of 9000 galloncapacity

4.

Trailer Relief Valves

a.

Since the trailer is a pressurevessel there are pressurerelief valves that are set inthe vapor space at the top ofthe trailer

b.

There are usually two placedat the front and back or two

placed side by side in themiddle of the tank

c.

They are indented into thetrailer in wells so they areprotected in case of a rollover


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d.

Relief valves may have ametal flap or rubber insert toprevent contamination fromaffecting the valves

e.

You may look at the positionof the flap or rubber insert tohelp you determine if a reliefvalve has opened

f.

This is an example of thewells that would hold therelief valves (this is an ISOcontainer not an MC 331)

E. Other Safety Features

1. Tanks are designed to withstandsignificant impacts. This was a55mph collision

2. Plumbing is made to break away inan accident. The internal valve isdesigned to break at shear pointsto prevent leakage from the trailer


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3.

Passive and active mitigation isrequired by DOT. This is separatefrom the remote emergencyshutoff valves on a trailer

a.

For 1” type transfers it iscommon to see either a “base” system which runs offa pressure drop detectionsystem

i.

If a pressure drop isdetected from a leakthe delivery operationwill shut down

ii.

Or a mechanism suchas a garage door typeopener where thedriver/operator mustdemonstrate he ispresent at a periodicinterval or the deliverysystem will shut down

b.

For 2” type transfers a “Smart Hose” system is

common

i. The Smart hose has acable inside the hose

ii.

If the hose completelyseparates the cablestretches and the hose

ends will close at eachend


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4.

Example of a Smart Hose design

5. Don’t use LPG hose for ammoniadelivery. Hoses are clearly markedfor the proper product

F.

Nurse Tank Components

1.

Nurse tanks come in various sizesfrom 1000-1450 gallons

2.

Nurse tanks are generally parkedtogether when sitting at a dealerlocation. This can make it hard to

determine which tank is leaking


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3.

Examples of twin 1000 gallontanks

4.

Warning Signs on Nurse Tanks

5.

Nurse tank valves should be colorco ded or labeled

6.

Nurse tank valve layouts


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7.

Dip tubes in the tank are used towithdraw product from nurse tank

8.

A relief valve is a spring loadedvalve designed to close based onflow

a.

This is an added safety

feature if a valve is shearedoff

b.

All liquid and vapors valvesare protected by excess flowvalves

c. This would hold true forcargo trailers, nurse tanks,rail tank cars, and above

ground stationary tanks

G.

Nurse Tank Rupture

1.

An internal non-code weldweakened the shell of a 1000gallon tank

2.

The tank ruptured, crossed theyard, destroyed a tractor, moved

250 feet

3. The tank missed other tanks andbuildings


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4.

A vapor cloud was released

5.

The event caused injuries

6.

This is the initial location of the

nurse tank. You can see the framefor the wheel still on the ground

7.

Final resting place of the nursetank

8. Tank split the tractor in half

9.

The running gear remained at theloading area


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10.

The gash, tire marks, and the redpaint all were from the collisionwith the tractor

11.

The missing shell section remainedby the load out risers

12.

The ammonia cloud drifted overthis ditch causing leaf burn


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TRANACAER® Anhydrous Ammonia Course Ver 2 0 17

LEGAL NOTICE

©The Fertilizer Institute and the American Chemistry Council, Inc. (2011)

This work is protected by copyright. The Fertilizer Institute and the American Chemistry Council, Inc.,which are the owners of the copyright, hereby grant a nonexclusive royalty-free license to reproduce

and distribute this work, subject to the following limitations:

1. The work must be reproduced in its entirety without alteration, abridgement, revision or other

modification;

2. All copies of the work must include a cover page bearing The Fertilizer Institute and AmericanChemistry Council, Inc.’s Notice of Copyright of this work; and

3. Copies of the work may not be sold or used by another party for profit or as part of a for-profit

enterprise.

The materials developed for the Anhydrous Ammonia Training Tour 2011 are intended to providegeneral understanding and guidance to emergency responders in addressing anhydrous ammonia

incidents. They include information about the chemical and helpful considerations that the emergency

responder can employ when faced with such an incident. The materials are in no way intended to be prescriptive or otherwise recommend specific procedures on how to respond. Emergency responders

are encouraged to consult with the product manufacturer, carrier and other experts when assessing and

managing any incident involving anhydrous ammonia.

Transcaer Ammonia Training 2011Transports IG Rev10

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