Tanker Truck Offloading Manifold With Gas Separation for Faster Unloading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tanker truck fluid unloading systems are inefficient, taking 30 minutes or more to offload fluids and are limited by the size of discharge piping, leading to prolonged unloading times and potential cavitation issues, which can damage pumps and hinder simultaneous multi-truck unloading.
Innovation Solution
A system featuring a manifold with a gas separation system, including an intermediate tank, blower, and pump, allowing multiple tanker trucks to offload simultaneously while removing air and airborne particles, and using a processor-based device for fluid level measurement and management, including automatic shut-off when the truck is empty, to optimize unloading efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional onboard pumps or tank pressurization methods are used for offloading, then the system is simple to operate, but the unloading time is prolonged (30 minutes or more) and limited by discharge piping size
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the unloading process into multiple parallel streams by providing multiple offloading stations (first, second, third stations) that can simultaneously unload multiple tanker trucks. Each station has its own discharge piping connected to a common manifold, allowing independent parallel operation rather than sequential unloading through a single pump system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple discharge piping systems from different offloading stations into a common manifold structure. This merging allows multiple trucks to be unloaded simultaneously while sharing common infrastructure (manifold, storage tank, control system), reducing overall system complexity compared to having completely separate systems for each truck.
2Speed
If the size of discharge piping or onboard pump is increased to speed up offloading, then the unloading speed may be slightly improved, but the system complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the size of single discharge piping or pump capacity in one dimension, the system adds a spatial dimension by providing multiple parallel discharge paths through multiple offloading stations. This dimensional expansion allows increased total throughput without requiring any single component to be excessively large or complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The common manifold acts as an intermediary structure that receives fluid from multiple offloading stations and distributes it to the storage tank. This intermediary component enables parallel unloading operations without requiring each individual discharge line to be oversized, thereby maintaining reasonable component sizes while achieving high overall throughput.
3Productivity
If multiple tanker trucks are unloaded simultaneously using a common manifold and pump, then productivity increases, but cavitation issues and pump damage may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the suction sources by providing separate suction lines from each offloading station that converge at the common manifold before reaching the pump. This segmentation allows the pump to receive balanced flow from multiple sources, preventing cavitation that would occur if a single pump tried to suction from one truck while others were being unloaded in parallel through the same pump.
Solution Approach 2:
The common manifold serves as an intermediary mixing chamber that combines fluid from multiple offloading stations before it reaches the pump. This intermediary structure ensures proper flow distribution and pressure balancing, preventing cavitation conditions that would arise from direct connection of multiple suction sources to a single pump inlet.
4Device complexity
If air and airborne particles are not removed from the fluid during offloading, then the system is simpler, but cavitation occurs and pump damage is caused
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes air and airborne particles from the fluid stream using a gas separator positioned in the common manifold or discharge line. This extraction function prevents gas-related cavitation and pump damage by separating the gas phase from the liquid phase before the fluid enters the pump or storage tank.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas separator acts as an intermediary component between the offloading stations and the pump/storage tank. It provides a dedicated space where air and airborne particles can be separated from the fluid, protecting downstream equipment without requiring complex modifications to the basic unloading process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables faster and more efficient unloading of multiple tanker trucks, reducing unloading time by a quarter compared to conventional methods, while preventing cavitation and pump damage, and providing accurate fluid volume measurement and management.
Implementation Method 1
a blower coupled to the intermediate tank to remove air and airborne particles from the fluid
Implementation Method 2
a pump coupled to the intermediate tank to remove fluid from the intermediate tank
Data Source
AI summary
A tanker truck offloading manifold method. The tanker truck offloading method includes detecting a tanker truck in at least one of a plurality of offloading stations, energizing a blower having an inlet duct coupled to a tank receiving fluid from the plurality of offloading stations, the blower to draw gasses from the tank when at least one tanker truck is offloading at least one of the plurality of offloading stations, de-energizing the blower when no tanker truck is offloading at any of the plurality of offloading stations, energizing a pump having an inlet coupled to the tank when the tank level is above a predetermined high level, and de-energizing the pump when the tank level is below a predetermined low level.