Vapour Control Systems (VCS) has developed a new system to recover the fuel vapour returned from a site’s pumps by Stage 2 vapour recovery systems. The recovery systems pump a mixture of air and fuel vapour back into the tank and the new development by VCS is an infuser which acts to convert the vapour content of mixture back into liquid.
Phil Lovatt, operations manager at VCS, explains that normally Stage 2 vapour is simply returned to the top of a tank and remains as vapour until most of it is removed by the tanker when connecting to the Stage 1B system during the delivery process.
But just returning the Stage 2 vapour to the tank in this way can cause problems such as increased pressure within tanks, temperature variations, greater generation of vapour and the need to vent excess pressure, all leading to increased stock losses. However, returning the Stage 2 mixture via an infuser installed in the tank, and passing it through the condensing media contained within the infuser, helps to balance out the temperature difference between the mixture and the tank. This encourages separation of the vapour from the air, thus condensing the vapour to liquid, and allowing more of it to be recovered.
Lovatt says that the fuel recovered can ensure that a dealer gets a payback from his system.
Calculations show that based on sales of 2.5mlpa, a dealer can expect to recover nearly 1,500 litres a year, most of which would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere or taken away during deliveries.
Newmarket-based VCS also offers tank-cleaning services through sister company Road Flow Commercial Ltd.
01638 560700
www.vapourcontrolsystems.co.uk
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