It is almost exactly a year since our first 22,000 22.0 bar Multigas tanks started rolling off the production lines. Fortuitously, this was just in time to help India and other countries through a time of dire shortage of equipment to carry LOX (liquid oxygen) to supply the hospitals and similar though the covid pandemic that was sweeping the world.
Though this specific demand has abated significantly, it has taken our clients both old and new very little time to take on board the great versatility of these Multigas tanks.
Only a few years have passed since the standard 20’ T75 had a maximum capacity of 20,000 litres, a working pressure of 10.0 bar and a tare weight of about 8,300 kg.
If the requirement was to carry CO2 (carbon dioxide) or N2O (nitrous oxide), then a working pressure of 22.0 bar was required and the tare weight rocketed to 10,500 kg.
GML’s new generation Multigas tank can carry all the usual airgases – LOX (liquid oxygen), LIN (liquid nitrogen), LAR (liquid argon) and flammables such as ethylene (C2H4) and its cousin ethane (C2H6), but also CO2 (carbon dioxide) or N2O (nitrous oxide). Thus there is no weight penalty for the higher pressure required for these last two gases.
Due to assorted problems in fertiliser production – a grave issue in itself – an impending shortage of the carbon dioxide by-product has been well publicised. As was seen in 2020/21, it is almost inevitable that there will not only be a mad scramble to source this gas that is vital for the food and beverage industries, but also for the equipment in which to carry it.
Matters have also conspired to create a shortage of nitrous oxide, a gas that is commonly used in medical anaesthesia and also in the catering industries.
Those who have been prudent will have already foreseen this and planned accordingly
A further hammer blow has been the rocketing price of stainless steel and nickel which has heavily impacted the cost of building new tanks. Prices have jumped 20% and more in the last 12 months and further rises are surely inevitable.
reacted fast and secured significant production space at a fixed price into Q1/2 of 2023. Although inroads have already been made into this new supply, we are confident that we shall be able to look after the needs of both our existing and new clients.
