Oiltanking Stolthaven Antwerp NV offers the logistic support needed to capture fast-moving opportunities for companies importing, exporting, distributing or holding oil products. A 50/50 joint venture company between Oiltanking and Stolthaven Terminals, the terminal is located among one of the world’s most extensive refining and petrochemical complexes, providing excellent access to national and international markets by water or land transport.

The company offers sophisticated storage and handling infrastructure for oil products, chemicals and gases as well as 30 years of experience in handling chemicals. Customers are assured of the integrity of their products through dedicated storage systems and highly skilled personnel.

The joint venture was formed in 2006, but remains an independent terminal. Both partners are committed to further expand and develop the terminal into the preferred specialty chemical hub in the ARA region.

PPG was tasked with coating a 24,500 m³, 34-m-diameter tank with a high-quality lining system in challenging temperature conditions. The owner wanted to reduce any curing risk should the internal heating installation fail which might result in an improper curing in the coating film, including the risk of having to re-blast and re-apply.

To deliver the most effective solution PPG Protective and Marine Coatings proposed its latest coating, PPG NOVAGUARD 890LT, which would be applied in two coats at 300 µm dry film thickness.

The fact that this system can be applied on a surface down to 0 °C, combined with a minimum curing temperature of -10 °C, provided a high degree of confidence for both the asset owner and the applicator in having a high-quality, low-risk tank lining for the tank bottom, including one meter of the shell.

PPG NOVAGUARD 890LT is a solvent-free, low-temperature-cure Novolac phenolic tank lining system, which can be applied with a single-feed airless pump for a fast return to service.

Application conditions for this project were challenging, as the coating had to be applied in two coats at 300 µm during winter. Throughout the application, the applicator also had to deal with several power and heating interruptions due to heavy storms. In this situation, the ability to apply by single-feed airless pump was a significant advantage.

Subsequent inspection by a third-party inspector and the PPG Field Technical Services team found that the lining system was in perfect condition to begin service, and a 10-year third-party insurance guarantee was issued.

The Technical Engineer of Oiltanking Stolthaven commented, “Despite the difficult winter conditions and power issues encountered, we were satisfied with the application of the PPG NOVAGUARD 890LT tank lining and with the technical support provided by the PPG team.”

Key Benefits

• High chemical resistance
• Cures down to -10 °C
• Can be applied on surfaces down to 0 °C
• Fast return to service: inspection at 18 hrs. – return to service 36 hrs. (20 °C)
• Single-feed application
• Novolac epoxy technology for broad chemical resistance – similar to PPG NOVAGUARD 890
• Low-film thickness required – 300 µm/12 mils
• High-film thickness capability – 1,100 µm/45 mils with no sagging]

By PPG Protective and Marine Coatings