I can find 400 and or 1000 gal tanks cheep. Two 400's for 800 total storage sounds perfect. However will the H2O4 embeded in the steel walls be to much of a problem for welding fittings and corrosion in the system.
? using anhydrous tanks for storage.
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Don't know about the ammonia part, if it's an acid or a base. Diluted well a base should be non corrosive. No clue about the welding either. What kind of prices are you considering "cheap" and I wonder if there is a similar source in my are for a tank.
If all the tanks have been used for is anhydrous ammonia where does the sulfur come from? You could fill the tanks with water and any lurking chemicals might dissolve and could then be drained out.
What pressure are the tanks rated for. Propane tanks are way overbuilt for residential hot water boiler systems. They needn't be so heavy and could still be plenty safe.
What pressure are the tanks rated for. Propane tanks are way overbuilt for residential hot water boiler systems. They needn't be so heavy and could still be plenty safe.
Anhydrous tanks are use to hold anhydrous fertilizer for agricultural crops so they can be found anywhere. The 400 gallon tanks were used in older equipment that for the most part are not used today. They were big in the 70's and 80's. I believe they can be found at the price of removal meaning free or maybe 50 bucks at a farm auction. The product anhydrous is 82% nitrogen (NH4 I believe). It's an acid. It seeks moisture very rapidly. Flooding the tank should remove most of it making it fairly safe to the human skin and eyes at least to the same effect as sticking your face dirrectly to a cleaning product with amonia in it. That will give you a head jerk but you will be fine. But i'm not sure if you can get all of the amonia out of the tank walls. Amonia with water vapor and air is fairly corrosive to metal. Maybe enough can be removed for this to not be an issue especially since storage would be opperated as pressurized with little air avaliable via air separator. Thats my main question.
Trying to keep my stuff staight here. There would be no sulfer only hydrogen and nitrogen and sorry its NH3 not NH4.
ANHYDROUS AMMONIA PROPERTIES
Anhydrous ammonia is the compound formed by the combination of the two gaseous elements, nitrogen
and hydrogen, in the proportion of one part of nitrogen to three parts of hydrogen by volume. Since one
volume of nitrogen weighs fourteen times as much as one volume of hydrogen, on a weight basis, the
ratio is fourteen parts of nitrogen to three parts of hydrogen, or about 82% nitrogen and 18% hydrogen.
At atmospheric temperature and pressures, anhydrous ammonia is a pungent colorless gas. Anhydrous
ammonia boils at -28° F and freezes to a white crystalline mass at -108° F. When heated above its critical
temperature of 270.3° F ammonia exists only as a vapor regardless of the pressure. Between the melting
and critical points, liquid ammonia exerts a vapor pressure which increases with rising temperature.
When liquid ammonia is in a closed container, it is in equilibrium with ammonia vapor and the pressure
within the container bears a definite relationship to the temperature. See Table on the following page and
DWG. 8019.
Liquid anhydrous ammonia is lighter than water, having a density of 42.57 pounds per cubic foot at -28°
F, while as a vapor, ammonia is lighter than air, its relative density is 0.597 compared to air at
atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 32° F. Under the latter conditions, one pound of ammonia
vapor occupies a volume of 20.78 cubic feet. At 70° F and at atmospheric pressure, one pound of
ammonia vapor occupies a volume of 22.5 cubic feet and yields 45 cubic feet of dissociated gas at a ratio
of 25% nitrogen and 75% hydrogen.
Because of its great affinity for water, care must be taken in the storage and handling of ammonia to keep
it dry. “Anhydrous” means “without water”. When ammonia gas is dissolved in water, the resulting
material is ammonium hydroxide or “aqua” ammonia. The two materials should not be confused.
PHYSICAL CONSTANTS OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA
Molecular symbol ………………………………………………………………….......... NH3
Molecular weight ……………………………………………………………………... 17.032
Boiling point at one atmosphere ………………………………………………………. -28o F
Freezing point at one atmosphere ……………………………………………………. -108o F
Critical temperature ……………………………………………………………….. 270.32o F
Critical pressure …………………………………………………………………… 1657 psia
Vapor density at -28° F and one atmosphere ………………………….. 0.056697 lb/cubic ft.
Heat of Combustion ……………………………………………………………. 8001 BTU/lb
Revision: 12/06
REACTIVITY OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA
The common metals are not affected by dry ammonia. Moist ammonia will not corrode iron or steel, but
will react rapidly with copper, brass, zinc and many alloys, especially those containing copper. Only steel
or ductile iron should be used for ammonia containers, valves, fittings and piping.
Under normal conditions, ammonia is a very stable compound. It takes excessive temperatures (about
840° to 930° F) to cause it to dissociate slightly at atmospheric pressure. When this happens, the
dissociated products are nitrogen and hydrogen. Ammonia gas burns in a mixture with air within a
limited range. The flammable limits at atmospheric pressure are 15% to 28% by volume of ammonia in
air. Experiments conducted by Underwriters Laboratories indicate that an ammonia-air mixture in a
standard quartz bomb will not ignite at temperatures below 1562oF. When an iron bomb, having a
catalytic effect, was used, the ignition temperature dropped to 1204oF.
ANHYDROUS AMMONIA PROPERTIES
Anhydrous ammonia is the compound formed by the combination of the two gaseous elements, nitrogen
and hydrogen, in the proportion of one part of nitrogen to three parts of hydrogen by volume. Since one
volume of nitrogen weighs fourteen times as much as one volume of hydrogen, on a weight basis, the
ratio is fourteen parts of nitrogen to three parts of hydrogen, or about 82% nitrogen and 18% hydrogen.
At atmospheric temperature and pressures, anhydrous ammonia is a pungent colorless gas. Anhydrous
ammonia boils at -28° F and freezes to a white crystalline mass at -108° F. When heated above its critical
temperature of 270.3° F ammonia exists only as a vapor regardless of the pressure. Between the melting
and critical points, liquid ammonia exerts a vapor pressure which increases with rising temperature.
When liquid ammonia is in a closed container, it is in equilibrium with ammonia vapor and the pressure
within the container bears a definite relationship to the temperature. See Table on the following page and
DWG. 8019.
Liquid anhydrous ammonia is lighter than water, having a density of 42.57 pounds per cubic foot at -28°
F, while as a vapor, ammonia is lighter than air, its relative density is 0.597 compared to air at
atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 32° F. Under the latter conditions, one pound of ammonia
vapor occupies a volume of 20.78 cubic feet. At 70° F and at atmospheric pressure, one pound of
ammonia vapor occupies a volume of 22.5 cubic feet and yields 45 cubic feet of dissociated gas at a ratio
of 25% nitrogen and 75% hydrogen.
Because of its great affinity for water, care must be taken in the storage and handling of ammonia to keep
it dry. “Anhydrous” means “without water”. When ammonia gas is dissolved in water, the resulting
material is ammonium hydroxide or “aqua” ammonia. The two materials should not be confused.
PHYSICAL CONSTANTS OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA
Molecular symbol ………………………………………………………………….......... NH3
Molecular weight ……………………………………………………………………... 17.032
Boiling point at one atmosphere ………………………………………………………. -28o F
Freezing point at one atmosphere ……………………………………………………. -108o F
Critical temperature ……………………………………………………………….. 270.32o F
Critical pressure …………………………………………………………………… 1657 psia
Vapor density at -28° F and one atmosphere ………………………….. 0.056697 lb/cubic ft.
Heat of Combustion ……………………………………………………………. 8001 BTU/lb
Revision: 12/06
REACTIVITY OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA
The common metals are not affected by dry ammonia. Moist ammonia will not corrode iron or steel, but
will react rapidly with copper, brass, zinc and many alloys, especially those containing copper. Only steel
or ductile iron should be used for ammonia containers, valves, fittings and piping.
Under normal conditions, ammonia is a very stable compound. It takes excessive temperatures (about
840° to 930° F) to cause it to dissociate slightly at atmospheric pressure. When this happens, the
dissociated products are nitrogen and hydrogen. Ammonia gas burns in a mixture with air within a
limited range. The flammable limits at atmospheric pressure are 15% to 28% by volume of ammonia in
air. Experiments conducted by Underwriters Laboratories indicate that an ammonia-air mixture in a
standard quartz bomb will not ignite at temperatures below 1562oF. When an iron bomb, having a
catalytic effect, was used, the ignition temperature dropped to 1204oF.
![[Hearth.com] ? using anhydrous tanks for storage.](/talk/data/attachments/15/15635-2f66865ffd0f0924a49ce024f1f2228d.jpg?hash=azNl6hkLtS)
Living in Nebraska, I have also wondered about using these tanks but was concerned about corrosion and if I would still get those whiffs of ammonia even if it were thoroughly rinsed out. It would be interesting to see if that smell ever goes away. Moving one of those into a closed area (no open air) would worry me a little too. I'm still hoping to find something before next fall for my system.
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