Lids for Fume-Tight Tanks: What Are My Options?

Poly Processing manufactures a wide variety of storage tank systems that are compatible with many different chemicals, including fuming chemicals that must be securely sealed when stored. For these chemical applications, the use of a fume-tight lid is usually required. 

Let’s take a closer look at how a fume-tight lid functions, when a fume-tight lid might be required, and what options are available to meet your chemical storage needs.

Fume Management is Essential in Chemical Storage

Most of the chemical storage tanks that Poly Processing manufactures are vented into the atmosphere. That means that the lid is on, but isn't completely sealed. Instead, the tank's vent goes either straight into the atmosphere or through a building and out into the atmosphere.

Highly corrosive or dangerous chemicals can’t be allowed to vent in this way, because they are harmful if ingested or inhaled and they can attack materials outside of the tank. In these situations, fume-tight lids are required for your chemical storage tank.

Hydrochloric Acid Must Be Sealed When Stored

One example of a chemical that requires a fume-tight lid is hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is used to lower the pH of water and is an emulsion breaker in industrial wastewater treatment. 

A fume-tight lid is used to protect people and the environment from the harmful fumes and the chemical’s corrosive nature. If the acid were to leak in a building, for instance, it would eat away at the metal and other materials inside the building.

How fume-tight Lids Work With Scrubbers

A fume-tight lid keeps chemical fumes from being vented out. Poly Processing accomplishes this by designing a tank with a vent line that’s attached to a scrubber. The lid is sealed with a gasket system so that the fumes must go through the vent line.

Normally, either a base chemical or water is put into the scrubber so that the fumes are neutralized as they vent through it. The scrubber can then safely vent out to the surrounding atmosphere.

Four Main Types of Fume-tight Lids

There are four main sizes for fume-tight lids that Poly Processing uses.

Our 7-inch and 10-inch fume-tight lids each thread on and are molded on smaller tanks. Our 17-inch and 24-inch lids are sealed with chemical bolts with molded plastic heads. The bolts are available in stainless steel, Alloy C-276 and titanium. Gasket materials available include EPDM, Viton®, Viton® GF, XLPE or Buna. 

The 17-inch model is often used on 19-inch manways as well. A fume-tight manway cover is required for HCl applications. 

In addition, Poly Processing is now manufacturing a 400 SAFE-Tank® with a fume-tight lid. 

View the 400 SAFE-Tank drawing.

For more information on fume-tight lids and which lids will work for your specific application, contact Poly Processing today.

Talk to a chemical storage tank expert

Industry News

For over five decades, Poly Processing has been at the forefront of innovation in chemical storage tank design and manufacturing. Reinforcing our commitment to advancing high density crosslinked polyethylene (HDXLPE) tank technology, we are thrilled to unveil our latest update to our  vertical storage tank solutions: the 15,500-gallon IMFO tank, the 15,000-gallon Sloped Bottom IMFO tank, and the 15,500-gallon Vertical tank, are all available in specific gravities up to 2.2 design.

These large innovative HDXLPE tanks are designed for exceptional durability, reliable performance, and an extended lifespan across a variety of applications. To enhance protection and prolong service life in oxidative environments, such as those involving sodium hypochlorite, they can be manufactured with our industry-leading OR-1000 engineered resin system, known for its remarkable resistance to oxidative chemicals.

These tanks represent the best engineering and design in the tank manufacturing industry, and they are covered under PPC’s industry-leading warranty.

At Poly Processing, we’re focused on delivering high-quality, forward-thinking solutions to meet the evolving demands of the chemical storage industry.