Stainless Steel Vessels

Stainless Steel Vessels

Stainless steel vessels can be constructed to hold many different volumes of liquid; anywhere from 50 to several hundred thousand gallons. Smaller vessels are usually used in laboratory testing, while the largest are made for industrial, manufacturing and process applications. Since high pressure vessels run the risk of failure, which could cause a fire, explosion and flying shrapnel, all stainless steel vessels must adhere to strict safety standards and codes put fourth by the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers).

These pressure vessels are used with four main application types - long or short term storage, process mixing, or as jacketed or reactor tanks for chemical, food and pharmaceutical processes. Mixing tanks usually have an agitating system or one or more propellers that are able to combine two different substances until they have become completely homogenous. This type of vessel is usually used to manufacture food products like peanut butter, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Jacketed process tanks provide heat transfer via liquids, steam and high temperature vapor circulation. Reactor tanks must be highly temperature resistant and are used to perform chemical reactions between two substances, usually by extreme heat. Stainless steel is perfect for each of these applications, since it is a corrosion resistant, sanitary and heat resistant metal. There are a couple of types of stainless steel vessels that handle certain substances better than others. 316 stainless steel can handle materials that are high in salt and are perfect for low ph applications. 304 Stainless steel can withstand both pressure and temperature better than any other type, and is therefore used in applications where chemical reactions take place.