Renewal of chemical storage (MEC Europe).

Purpose

The old fiberglass-reinforced storage tanks were in need of replacement. CGK provided a new installation that is safe, requires little maintenance, and has a long service life.

Problem-solution

MEC Europe uses four strong chemicals as raw materials: formic acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrogen peroxide. These were stored in outdated white GRP tanks that had since been rejected. A safe, sustainable, and compliant replacement was therefore needed.

Our team was given the freedom to completely redesign the installation.

We installed a new storage and dosing plant built around four black double-walled plastic storage tanks:

• New plastic pump cabinets and pumps
• Filling cabinets, fully customized
• Spill kit cabinet with PPE for emergencies
• Physical leak detection: tanks are equipped with electrical alarms and operate completely automatically
• PVC piping: with the exception of the formic acid piping, which is made entirely of PE for added safety.
• Large scale IR-welding, carried out on site by our team from Gullegem

All work, from design to implementation, was carried out in-house. Due to the customization and nature of the materials, prefabrication in our workshop was not possible, so everything was welded and assembled on site.

Result:

• Increased safety thanks to double walling, automatic leak detection and customized materials
• Sustainable in consumption: no active leak detection → lower electricity costs
• Long-term solution: the installation is ready for at least another 20 years (sulfuric acid tank = 10-year service life)
• Ergonomic and user-friendly, also for on-site employees