Some years ago, when three LNG storage tanks were built at an LNG terminal in the North of France, FOAMGLAS® insulation was used as the material to insulate the tank bases.
The superior performance was the driver to make use of FOAMGLAS® insulations’ material properties again for the insulation of a total of six impounding basins that were being added to the LNG terminal.
In case of LNG leaks in the piping networks, the LNG is transported to these underground concrete impounding basins where it can be collected and safely confined and controlled. The impounding basins needed to be insulated as a fire safety measure so that the vaporization rate is reduced and heat gain can be minimized.
In order to avoid possible cold spillage of the concrete and to prevent any effects on the iron-reinforced concrete structure which could lead to the basins collapsing, it was decided to protect the walls and the bottom of the impounding basins with a FOAMGLAS® insulation system. An incombustible, impermeable and dimensionally stable insulation material like FOAMGLAS® insulation was just right for the job.
FOAMGLAS® insulation was used to insulate two circular and four rectangular impounding basins. The system used for the walls consisted of a layer of a protective epoxy membrane (in accordance with French norms) covered with a first layer of FOAMGLAS® insulation HLB 800 blocks with a thickness of 50mm (1.96in), fully bonded with Pittsburgh Corning’s PC® 56 adhesive and finished with F-anchor mechanical fixings. This first layer was covered with a second layer of FOAMGLAS® HLB 800 ready blocks, a thickness of 60mm (2.36in) and covered with a mineral bitumen membrane.
The system used for the bottom of the impounding basins consisted of a layer of the protective epoxy membrane with a double-layer system of FOAMGLAS® insulation HLB 800 blocks, thickness 50 mm (1.96in).
The FOAMGLAS® insulation blocks were all fully bonded with PC® 56 adhesive, covered with a hot bitumen bore coating and finished with a torched mineral bitumen membrane.
The delivered amounts of the material consisted of, over 2500 m² (27,000ft²) of FOAMGLAS® HLB 800 insulation, over 1,200m² (13,000ft²) HLB 800 Ready Blocks, more than 350 pails of PC®56 adhesive and almost 3000 F-anchor mechanical fixings.