How To Use The Chemical Resistance Guide

When storing a chemical, it’s critical that you are confident that your entire tank system is compatible with the chemical and up to the task of providing safe storage. To help customers understand the compatibility of specific chemicals with our polyethylene tanks and accessories, we created our chemical resistance guide. Using this resource, you can see the compatibility of our tanks, fittings, and gaskets with over 100 different chemicals.

In order to make an informed decision on which options will work with a specific chemical, it’s important that you understand how to read the chemical resistance guide. Let’s go through the process of using the guide with an example chemical, sodium hypochlorite.

Understanding The Chemical Resistance Guide

We always recommend starting with the chemical being stored and this is no exception. Choose a chemical from the dropdown and you’ll be presented with a list of categories running horizontally across the top of the table.

Chemical Data

From left to right, our guide lists the following information about the chemical:

• Chemical name
• Chemical concentration
• Tank specific gravity required to safely store the chemical at its given concentration

For the rest of the guide, compatibility is noted as satisfactory (marked with an S) or unsatisfactory (marked with a U).

Tank Material

First, the ratings for our two tank material options, high-density cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and high-density linear polyethylene (HDPE), are shown at various temperatures. The XLPE has been tested at 100° and 140°F and our linear polyethylene at 70° and 140°F. Many of the more corrosive and potentially dangerous chemicals cannot be held in linear polyethylene tanks, especially at higher temperatures.

Using our example of sodium hypochlorite, you can see that the formula is NaOCI and that the specific gravity of a tank storing this chemical at 0.8% or 9% to 15% must be at least 1.2. We can store this chemical in XLPE tanks at any temperature, but higher concentrations (9-15%) cannot be stored in linear polyethylene (HDPE) tanks.

Fittings and Gaskets

From there, you can see whether the various types of fittings (columns PVC-Alloy 400) and gaskets (columns VITON® - NEOPRENE®) that we offer.

For example, you can see that a chemical storage tank holding sodium hypochlorite at 0.8% concentration is compatible with all types of fittings except for stainless steel, and all types of gaskets except for those of alloy 400, made of buna, and/or neoprene. The last box in the row contains any special notes or comments that should be considered when storing the chemical.

Creating Our Chemical Resistance Guide

All of the information that we use in our chemical resistance guide is based on published data and field experience and believed to be reliable. It is recommended that you cross reference this guide with one or two
others guides and contact your chemical supplier or manufacturer. Some chemical compatibility information may vary based on the size of the tank as well as warranty. We recommend contacting us at 866-765-9957 with any questions regarding this guide. Please check for the latest revision to this guide.

If you are looking to store a chemical not found in our guide, please contact a chemical storage expert today for more information on storage compatibility.