Static Vacuum Insulated Cryogenic Vessels: Operation and Inspection
- Publisher
- European Industrial Gases Association
- Document
- Doc 224/20
- Edition
- Replaces Doc 114, Doc 115 and Doc 119 (2020)
- Document language
- English
EIGA Doc 224/20 is the central document for the vacuum insulated storage tank once it is installed and running. It describes the operation and the required inspections of static vacuum insulated cryogenic vessels at user premises, designed for a maximum allowable working pressure above 0.5 bar, which is the threshold at which the Pressure Equipment Directive treats equipment as pressure equipment.
It is a consolidation rather than a new topic: this one publication replaced three earlier EIGA documents, Doc 114 on operation of static cryogenic vessels, Doc 115 on storage of cryogenic gases at users' premises and Doc 119 on periodic inspection.
What the document covers
- Covers installations with an individual water capacity up to 125,000 litres, and can be used as guidance above that.
- Written for vessels with MAWP above 0.5 bar, and usable as a guideline below it.
- Subjects include equipment, site layout and design, commissioning, maintenance and repair, taking out of service, daily, filling and periodic inspection, and personnel training.
- Applies to liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon and helium, with the same principles extended to carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and flammable gases.
- Toxic gas service is excluded, as are production vessels and transport vessels, which fall under TPED and dangerous goods rules.
- States that local regulations take precedence over its recommendations.
What it means for equipment
If you operate bulk cryogenic storage, this is the document that defines what routine looks like: what gets checked daily, what gets checked at every fill, and what gets checked periodically. It is also the reference that makes a used tank assessable, because it describes the inspection record a well kept vessel should have.
The 125,000 litre line is worth noting. Below it you are inside a settled code of practice. Above it, safety distances and local requirements enter the design.