A tank container or tanktainer is an

intermodal container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, or a freight container, (or simply "container") is a large metal crate designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different Mode ...

for the transport of

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

es and

powders A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may Particle-laden flow, flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes use ...

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is Product (business), product cargo that is transported packaging, unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, ...

. It is built to the

ISO standards The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

, making it suitable for different modes of transportation; as such, it is also called an ISO tank. Both hazardous and non-hazardous products can be transported in tank containers. A tank container is a vessel of

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

surrounded by an insulation and protective layer of usually

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) is a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane term ...

and

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

. The vessel is in the middle of a steel frame. The frame is made according to ISO standards and is long, wide and or high. The contents of the tank range from . There are both smaller and larger tank containers, which usually have a size different from the ISO standard sizes. For example, there are some and above litre tank containers in the European swap body fleets in Europe but they are not used on international business only on intra European traffic. The trade organization ITCO estimates that as of January 1, 2024, the global fleet of tank containers stands at 848,400 units. Most of these tank containers are owned by operators and leasing companies. ISO tank containers built to transport hazardous cargo have to meet a variety of regulations including but not limited to IMDG, ADR-RID- US DOT and other. There are a variety of UN Portable tank types, the most common of which is T11 as it is permitted to transport a thousand or more hazardous bulk chemicals. There are hundreds of tank container operators worldwide; they can vary on the service they offer. The bigger operators typically offer a wide range of services, while smaller operators may only offer services in one region or with one type of tank.

History

The tank container concept was also employed in Europe by Bob Fossey, an engineer who worked for Williams Fairclough in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. They improved on the 1950s framed American elliptical container tanks, oft noted carrying specified USA engine oils for the UK’s MoD aircraft built in Preston, Lancashire. In 1964, Fairclough made a swap body tank for combined transport by truck and train, but not yet constructed according to ISO standards. In 1966, commercial production began and one year later the first tank container to ISO dimensions was developed. The first mass-produced tank containers were purchased by Trafpak, a part of Pakhoed. In 1969, the ISOTANK was registered as a name by Andrews of Aintree Ltd., Liverpool. Their's were the first ISO container tanks in the world to get Lloyds Register and the UK DoT Hazardous Goods Department design approvals for international transport. They were essential and additional to UK approvals, much good advice was gained from several relevant, sound authorities in USA; Canada; Australia; R S Africa et al.. Built by Andrews of Aintree., Liverpool, and tested at Ellis Research facility. George Lambert, the ISOTANK’S designer, was also the company’s division head, thus responsible for sales or advising clients on the new product’s wide range of complex issues. This first order to Andrews came from a major shipping line entering the bulk sensitive liquids by ISO means. It was reported as won by merit of the approved data and reputation. The initial order was for 20 off insulated and electrically heated units, 10 for hazardous substances, 10 for non- hazardous substances. In the early 1970s, the tank container evolved to its current form and the production was also well underway. In the early days, production took place in Europe. In 2010 and afterward, production is mainly in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Handling

A tank container can be loaded and unloaded from the top and the bottom. On a standard tank container there is a

manhole A manhole (utility hole, maintenance hole, or sewer hole) is an opening to a confined space such as a shaft (civil engineering), shaft, utility vault, or large container, vessel. Manholes, typically protected by a manhole cover, are often used ...

, at least one

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

on the top, and there is a valve at the bottom. Loading and unloading is done by connecting hoses of the loading and unloading facility to the valves of the tank. The loading or unloading is often done using a

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...

. Depending on the installation and regulation of certain products, it is determined how the tank container should be loaded or unloaded.

Types

* Swap body tank - a swap body has a bigger tank which is larger than the frame, usually long * Food-grade tank - a standard tank container which can only be loaded with foodgrade products * Reefer tank - a tank with the ability to cool ("refigerate") the product to be transported * Gas tank - a tank that is suitable for the transport of gases * Silo tank - a tank for the transport of grains and powders * T1 ISO tank container (for wine and light liquids) * T4 ISO tank container (for non-hazardous edible and non-edible oils) * T11 ISO tank container (for non-hazardous chemicals) * T14 ISO tank container (for hazardous chemicals and acids like HCl and zinc chloride) * T50 ISO tank container (for LPG and ammonia gas) * T75 ISO tank Container ( for Cryogenic liquids )ONU * SWAP tank container (for cargo above ) * Rubber-lined ISO tank container (for acid-based chemicals)

Competitive modes

Barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

Intermediate bulk container Intermediate bulk containers (also known as IBCs, IBC totes, or pallet tanks) are industrial-grade containers engineered for the mass handling, transport, and storage of liquids, partial solids, pastes, granular solids or other fluids. There are ...

* Tanker * Tank chassis *

Tank truck A tank truck, gas truck, fuel truck, or tanker truck (American English) or tanker (British English) is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquids or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars, which are also desi ...

* Tank wagon

References

External links

"History of the Tank Container"
International Tank Container Organization (ITCO) {{Authority control Intermodal containers Fuel containers Oil storage