Adding an inhibitor to a tank of Methyl Methacrylate
During the MSC Napoli, an Iso-tank containing Methyl Methacrylate was damaged, sustaining a large split in the top of the tank. Methyl methacrylate is transported stabilised with an inhibitor to prevent uncontrolled polymerisation. Unfortunately, the inhibitor can evaporate if the tank is open to the atmosphere, thus making it susceptible to a polymerisation event
Project Works:
Ambipar Response were requested by the manufacturer to add an inhibitor to the tank to render the product harmless and prevent any possibility of an uncontrolled polymerisation event occurring. To do this we bled off around 200l of the product and added a similar amount of PTZ inhibitor to the tank through the man-lid. (No injection system was available at the time). The contents were then mixed by lifting one end of the tank with a crane several times
Results:
Working in close cooperation with Portland Port, and the manufacturer, the inhibitor was successfully added and the product was then removed as waste.