Page 49: of Marine News Magazine (May 2019)

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Gas Freeing Barges the Modern Way

Using Nanotechnology to Improve Safety & Ef? ciency dd th th h h h iktlbi or as long as oil and petrochemicals have been in use pors. NanoVapor addresses these risks not only by sig- by transportation, safely managing their highly ? am- ni? cantly reducing the time needed to achieve safe vapor mable, toxic, and environmentally damaging vapors levels, but by also maintaining these safe levels for up to a

F has been an ever present challenge. Even with increasing week or more.

emphasis on safety procedures and better training, these invisible and dangerous vapors continue to result in the Gas Freeing Con? ned Spaces loss of life and property. But now, new nanotechnolo- When gas freeing a fuel or product tank, NanoVapor’s gies can provide safer and faster solutions that were not technology can virtually stop vapor formation at its source thought possible with conventional methods. NanoVapor’s by forming a molecular barrier on any surface where oil, patented nanotechnology systems are now becoming avail- fuel, and other petrochemicals are present. This molecular able for marine and other transportation modes, so they barrier is so thin that only a few ounces of its nano-engi- too can realize the dramatic improvements in workplace neered suppressant molecules are needed to fully suppress health and safety made possible with more effective sup- vapor concentration to safe levels in a 100 cubic meter pression of these dangerous vapors in con? ned spaces. tank. Because no measurable residue is left behind, the

In the marine transportation business, safety and time need for costly and time-consuming recovery operations is often work against each other as operators seek to improve minimized or eliminated.

overall ef? ciency by reducing the vessel downtime related To show the degassing effectiveness of NanoVapor’s to unscheduled and scheduled maintenance, repairs, and aviation degassing system, a live side-by-side degassing inspections. This time pressure can lead to inadvertent but demonstration was performed on the wing fuel tanks of a deadly lapses in the checks and balances that are designed Boeing 737 aircraft. Prior to degassing, the jet fuel in each into safety procedures that deal with these hazardous va- of these fuel tanks was drained using normal procedures, 49 www.marinelink.com MN