Italian steel fabricator Cital has made a decisive move towards more economical liquid storage tanks. The company has chosen Outokumpu’s proprietary lean-duplex grade LDX 2101® for 20 new fermentation tanks to be built for the UK bioethanol producer Vivergo Fuels Limited. Cital’s material choice is remarkable, as it was made solely on the basis of the material weight reduction that LDX 2101® allows compared to the traditional material in this application, austenitic 1.4301/1.4307 (304/304L). Cital managed to cut their material use by more than 15 percent. At the time when Cital made the grade selection, a sharp drop in the nickel price had made 1.4301/1.4307 competitive against LDX 2101® in absolute terms. LDX 2101® contains only 1.5 percent nickel, which is an advantage at times of high nickel prices. However, Cital found after careful calculations that LDX 2101® was the better material for them. Their choice has dramatically turned the tide for LDX 2101® in many industrial applications. The weight reduction allowed by LDX 2101® comes from the high mechanical strength of duplex stainless steel – close to 90 percent higher than that of austenitic grades. There are other benefits from LDX 2101®, including somewhat better corrosion resistance compared to 1.4301/1.4307. Because of its low nickel content, LDX 2101® also brings very welcome price predictability to projects. Cital’s first experience with duplex LDX 2101® comes from 2007, when the company used the material to fabricate liquid storage tanks for Tate & Lyle, a global renewable food and industrial ingredients manufacturer. Cital found that LDX 2101® brought them savings in more areas than one. Fabrizio Basagni, Cital’s Technical & Commercial Manager, says, “Outokumpu’s LDX 2101® is a very good alternative for the traditional austenitic grade in large-volume tanks due to the material thickness reduction. In addition, LDX 2101® brings big savings in working hours because the reduced thicknesses require less welding. There are also consequent savings in welding consumables.” Outokumpu’s 2-meter-wide coil brings additional savings in welding. Mr. Basagni also cites good technical assistance from Outokumpu as a factor in the success of the joint projects. Current project 20 fermentation tanks for bioethanol, to be completed by the end of 2009 Tank owner: Vivergo Fuels Limited in Hull, UK Tank volumes and dimensions: 5,000 cubic meters, 17m in diameter, 20m in height (9 units) 600 cubic meters, 9m in diameter, 10m in height (11 units) Tank fabricator Cital s.r.l. of Italy based in Cuneo Province, specializing in the fabrication of pressure vessels, columns, heat exchangers, storage tanks and other equipment for paper mills and the chemical, pharmaceutical, food and power industries, with manufacture in Italy and subsidiaries in the UK, Romania and Singapore Outokumpu supply Total of 550 tons of duplex LDX 2101® (1.4162) plate, consisting of 538 tons of CPP, 5−10mm in thickness and 2000mm wide, and 12 tons of quarto, 12mm in thickness, used to fabricate the tank wall structures. [The tank roofs and bottoms are in 1.4301/1.4307 (304/304L).]