Post Cure: Bolt-assembly GFRP industrial tank simplifies assembly, airtight anaerobic treatment

Industrial storage tanks, and anaerobic digestive tanks in particular, present a variety of design and fabrication challenges. Facilitating biogas capture and organic waste treatment, manufacturers must consider the anaerobic digestion process taking place inside the tanks — including generated corrosives, positive and negative loads, among other things.

The anaerobic tank solution by Toro Equipment (Valladolid, Spain), called W-Tank and made completely from glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites (GFRP), is well-equipped to handle such applications.

The W-Tank consists of stackable, 11-meter-high vertical plates and a cover. The plates are fabricated in what Toro calls its Flex Molding process that enables a homogeneous 70/30 fiberglass/resin ratio. Together, plates and cover can be shipped globally in 40-foot containers and assembled on-site via a bolting union — no adhesives or GFRP welding required — easing assembly logistics.

This technology enables Toro to fabricate tanks with capacities up to 12,535 square meters and heights up to 11 meters that withstand more than 3 million gallons in locations with high seismicity and high wind speeds.

For the mechanical support of the three-phase digestor with a hypcar cover shown in the first picture, Toro also designed a column-based platform in GFRP to withstand forces acting on the digestors.