Chemicals

If your business or organization regularly works with, stores, or manufactures chemical products, you’re likely familiar with chemical hazards and proper safety protocol (We’re willing to bet you’ve been through one or two chemical safety courses as part of your training).

For those who aren’t as familiar with chemical handling and cooling, it’s important to remember that an important part of safe chemical use is safe storage, Generally, storing hazardous chemicals requires sorting by oxidation (chemical reaction), flammability, toxicity, explosive properties, etc., away from outdoor exposure, and, if applicable, out of reach of children. Safety guidelines also require the use of clear warning labels.

Not only does improper chemical storage pose a serious safety risk, it can also lead to some expensive material loss.  There are certain chemicals (like industrial chemicals) that degrade or oxidize in warm environments over time. In such cases, it’s important to make sure storage containers are kept the proper temperatures. Fortunately, there are a few different options for keeping both large and small scale chemical storage cool.

REFRIGERATED ROOMS

Refrigerated rooms are exactly what they sound like; they are essentially room-sized refrigerators.  These could be a good process cooling solution for large production facilities that need more space to accommodate a constant storage supply of chemical drum containers.

However,  refrigerated rooms have a few limitations:

• Requires significant time to set up
• Costly to design and construct
• Not practical to operate when chemicals are in use at several points in the facility
• Difficult  to scale up when more storage space is needed
• Difficult to relocate once it’s set-up

CHILLER UNITS

A second option for cooling during storage are chiller units. Chemical chillers work by using localized cooling to draw excess heat from the contents of each drum container. Chillers require a separate heat exchanger to “connect” the chiller to the drum.

We’ll discuss the following two heat exchangers: the submersible coil unit, and the fluid cooling blanket.

SUBMERSIBLE COIL UNIT

This unit is connected to a chiller and submerged directly into the chemical drum. Coils are most commonly composed of plastic and metal. While these units provide more flexibility, portability, and scalability than a refrigerated room, some drawbacks include:

• Exposure to dangerous chemicals
• Contamination of the chemical substances from the coil unit and air-transported fragments
• Evaporation of drum contents
• Potential localized freezing/ uneven cooling

FLUID COOLING BLANKET

This heat exchanger is connected to a chiller and wrapped around the storage drum. Fluid runs through the blanket and pulls heat from the drum. We’ve found that this solution is generally most effective for the following reasons:

• Hazardous chemicals are fully contained
• Less possibility of product contamination
• Better insulation for the drum products
• Provides even, consistent cooling (No localized freezing)
• Easy to install and scale up or down
• Can be used throughout a facility

If you are trying to decide which cooling solution is best for you and your needs, we’d love to answer any of your questions! Shoot us an email at i[email protected].

How should chemicals be stored? Many companies purchase, transport and store chemical drums in warm or hot environments.  Such chemical storage can be problematic as many types of chemicals are adversely affected by exposure to hot temperature environments. Knowing how to store chemicals safely will prevent costly waste and help keep your operation running smoothly.

Harmful Heat During Chemical Storage

All organic chemicals are susceptible to thermal degradation and will oxidize over time and in warm environments. Among the more concerning substances that need to be kept cool are: Paint, coatings, epoxy, scale inhibitors, and corrosion inhibitors. Additionally, some drums containing materials like concrete and specialized chemicals need to be kept cool before they are utilized in a manufacturing process.

So, how can you keep these substances cool during storage?

Refrigerated Rooms

Process cooling solutions can range from simple and easy-to-implement, to difficult and costly. One option is to control the environment that they are stored in. Refrigerated storage rooms can be constructed and small to large amounts of chemical drums can be kept cool at the same time. For very large facilities that store large amounts of chemicals this can be a good, viable solution.

There are some limitations with refrigerated rooms including:

• Expensive to design and construct
• Time consuming to set up
• Difficult to relocate
• Difficult to scale up if more space is needed
• Not practical for use if the chemicals are in use at several different points in a facility

Chiller Units: Coils and Blankets

Another option is to provide localized cooling on each drum of chemical. A chemical chiller unit is needed to draw excess heat from the contents of the drum. For the chiller unit to be able to effectively draw off heat a separate heat exchanger is needed to interface the chiller with the drum. There are two types of heat exchangers that can be used: a submersible coil unit or a fluid cooling blanket.

Submersible Coils

A submersible coil unit can be constructed from many types of materials but the two predominant materials used are metal and plastic. The coil is connected directly to a chiller unit and then submerged directly into the chemical drum. The challenges with this approach are:

• Contamination of the chemicals from coiling unit and airborne debris
• Localized cooling with a potential of localized freezing
• Exposure of hazardous chemicals
• Evaporation of drum contents

Cooling Blankets

A fluid cooling blanket is a heat exchanger that is wrapped around the exterior of a drum. The blanket is connected to a chiller unit and then draws heat off of a drum and maintains a desired temperature. The added benefits of the approach include:

• Insulation of the drum products
• Even distribution of cooling medium
• Containment of hazardous chemicals
• Reduction in possible contamination of product
• The ability to cool drums at various points in a facility at the point of use
• Ability to maintain cool product temperature even in very hot ambient environments

North Slope Chillers

North Slope Chillers provide the most innovative and effective chilling systems on the market. They are easy to install and will not disrupt the current setup of your chemical storage. Whether you need to keep materials cool, frozen or anything in between, North Slope Chillers will keep your supplies at the perfect temperature and help prevent costly and time-consuming waste.