Storage Vessel

Material Balance
Calculations:
F3a
Overall Mass Balance: =F 4 [III.4.1]
2
2,600 kg/day
=1,300 kg /batch
2
Table III.4.1.1 Summary of Values around Storage Vessel
Storage Vessel Storage Vessel
Component Component
(Enter) (Exit)
Flow Rate (kg/day) Flow Rate
(kg/day)
Dried Corn Stover 2,600 Dried Corn Stover 2,600
Total 2,600 Total 2,600

III.4.2. Design Consideration and Selection

For short-term storage of solid materials for the next process, overhead bunkers are
normally used (Sinnot, et al., 2005). Bunkers are also referred to as bins which have two
sections: cylinder and hopper (Carson, 2008). To control the rate of discharge, a valve is
used.
III.4.3. Design Specifications
The specification of the storage vessel and the calculations follows Bulk Solids Handling:
Equipment Selection and Operation by McGlinchey (2008). For the materials of
construction, reinforced concrete is the most common alternative and a double layer of
reinforcing steel is likely to be considered due to concerns such as abrasion and/or
corrosion.  In determining the required size of the bin, first consideration is the mass of
the material then converting it into a volume by estimating the bulk density of the
material to be stored. The common bulk density of dried corn stover is 130

kg
(Kumar et al . , 2017).
m3

Calculating the volume of dried corn stover:

 m dried corn stover
V dried corn stover =
ρbulk
2,600 kg
V dried corn stover =
130 kg /m 3
V dried corn stover =20 m3
The general rule of thumb for process vessels, 10% to 15% of the total tank volume
must provide a section for overfill protection to accommodate upsets and also the
working volume of the tank is 80% (Hall, 2018).

Calculating the volume of the cylinder:

20 m 3
V cylinder =
0.80
V cylinder =25 m3
Usually, a reasonable and economical height to diameter ratio is between 1.5 to 4.0.
Assuming the economical height to diameter is 2.
H
=2
D
Calculating the diameter of the cylinder:
V cylinder =π ¿

25 m 3=π ¿
D=0.99 m
Calculating the height of the cylinder:
H=2 D=2(0.99 m)
H=1.98 m