December 11 2023

Tank container made of polymer composite materials is designed for transportation of chemical cargo

The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) issued a Certificate of Approval for multimodal transportation for a tank container model KTSKH.PKM-25/0.4 with internal cistern made of polymer composite materials (PKM), intended for the transportation of dangerous chemical goods.

Mr. Stanislav Rits, RS Deputy Head of the Technical Supervision Department for Containers, Dangerous Goods and Packaging said that the issuance of CoA was the logical conclusion of a long-term collaboration of specialists from a number of domestic companies and industry organizations. The main task was not only to create a tank container with a cistern made of PCM for the transportation of dangerous goods, but also to ensure the possibility of its transportation by all types of transport, including sea.

RS reviewed technical documentation and strength calculations, and was the first of the classification societies to introduce into its regulatory and technical base requirements for the design, operation and repair of tank containers with cisterns made of PCM. With the participation of RS, all necessary tests and trials were carried out.

Based on the draft amendments to the UN Model Regulations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (Orange Book) and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IC RID) developed by RS, the Russian Federation took the initiative to make appropriate changes to these documents. As a result, in 2022, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee adopted at its 105th session Resolution MSC.501(105), which legalizes the use of such equipment in maritime transport for multimodal operations without restrictions. The document comes into force on January 1, 2024, and the possibility of voluntary application of its provisions opened on January 1, 2023.

As a representative of the “Uralkriomash” company explained, in the national and international practice of multimodal transportation, the transportation of aggressive commodities previously was carried out mainly in containers made of steel with the application of a special protective coating using the gumming method. The tank container model KTsKH.PKM-25/0.4 is made of polymer composite materials – fiberglass, obtained by vacuum infusion and filament winding, designed for the transportation of substances of hazard class 8 – hydrochloric (hydrochloric) acid, sodium hydroxide, phosphoric acid and so on.

The possibility of organizing the production of PCM containers brings technology for transportation of dangerous chemical goods to a new quality level. Thanks to a cistern made of such materials, the service life of tank containers and the frequency of their rotation increases, the properties of the transported product are preserved, and the environmental safety of transportation increases as well. This project has been implemented within the framework of the federal program “Development of the composite materials production industry.”

Source: https://portnews.ru/news/357335/