Road tankers Lean Duplex Makes a New Breakthrough in Road Tankers

OMSP Macola of Italy fabricates road tankers for transportation of carbon dioxide from Outokumpu’s proprietary duplex LDX 2101®.

Carbon dioxide is an important raw material for a wide range of industries, including food, oil and chemical. Transformed into liquid for convenient handling, it is classified as a hazardous material, and its storage and transportation are governed by codes for dangerous goods. Liquefied carbon dioxide is transported at a low temperature and an elevated pressure in road tankers specially designed for the application. OMSP Macola is an Italian company specializing in industrial transportation vehicles including road tankers for cryogenic applications and hazardous materials. With a long-standing relationship with Outokumpu, the road-tank maker has used Outokumpu’s duplex 2205 plate for years with success to manufacture carbon-dioxide road tankers for one of the world-leading industrial gas suppliers. The company uses duplex 2205 to fabricate the inner, load-containing layer of road tankers’ double hull. The concept OMSP Macola recently secured a new customer for liquefied carbon-dioxide road tankers. This customer is open to innovation and keen to find new alternatives for the tankers to increase efficiency and competitiveness. Based on their highly positive experiences with duplex 2205, OMSP Macola’s design engineers sat down with Outokumpu’s technical and sales team in Italy and IVENA S.r.l., a consulting company specializing in dangerous goods transportation, to find a new material with high performance and good economy. Together, the project partners decided to investigate if carbon dioxide road tankers could be manufactured from Outokumpu’s lean duplex LDX 2101®. The solution There is no norm for LDX 2101® in the application, which has necessitated a PMA (Particular Material Appraisal) procedure. The appraisal has involved extensive material testing in the customer’s laboratory. Bending tests have been conducted to determine ductility in the welded sections. The material’s tensile strength has been tested and its microscopic structure examined. The tests have produced excellent results. Based on the results, the Italian Register of Shipping RINA has approved duplex LDX 2101® in accordance with code IMO 8, which governs shipping of dangerous goods. The results Owing to the high strength of duplex stainless steel, OMSP Macola reaps a 30-percent saving in the road-tanker container weight compared to containers fabricated from conventional steel. This is because the high pressure produced inside the tank to accommodate for the operating temperature range, which allows the high strength of LDX 2101® to be utilized. In addition to the high mechanical strength of duplex that enables the remarkable weight reduction, OMSP Macola reports that they are pleased with the excellent ductility and weldability of LDX 2101®. According to company technical managers, the material is ideal for use in road equipment, meeting the high fatigue performance requirements set by the design codes of the Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive. As such, LDX 2101® helps enhance safety on roads. OMSP Macola expressed their gratitude to Outokumpu for such a succesful collaboration in technical and commercial matters and are keen to establish a standard production program for road tankers using duplex LDX 2101®.

A self-supporting road tanker manufactured by OMSP Macola. Courtesy of same

Project details:

Development of cryogenic road tankers for liquefied carbon dioxide, for operating temperature range -40 to 50 degrees Celsius, using Outokumpu’s duplex LDX 2101® plate to fabricate the inner, load-containing layer of the insulated double hull.

Manufacturer:
OMSP Macola S.r.l. of Italy, a company specializing in the design, manufacture and servicing of industrial vehicles: tank trucks, tank semi-trailers, self-supporting tanks and specially adapted vehicles for the transportation of dangerous goods. See http://www.omspmacola.it/eng/index_eng.php

Partner in product development:
IVENA S.r.l. of Italy, a consulting company specializing in design, inspections and training in codes for ADR (agreement concerning international transport of dangerous goods), RID (règlement concernant le transport international ferroviaire des marchandises dangereuses) and IMDG (international maritime transport of dangerous goods)