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Patented Stainless Grade Chosen for Tank Project

The steel is for three oil storage tanks at the Antwerp harbor in Belgium. Each tank can hold 4.2 million liters, or about 1.1 million gallons.

Outokumpu said the patented grade, which has a nickel content 1.5 percent, can compete on life cycle cost with carbon steel tanks because they are corrosion-resistant and virtually maintenance-free.

“More and more duplex stainless steels are chosen because of the very good price-performance ratio. Duplexes have a similar corrosion resistance as the austenitic stainless steels which are normally used, but offer an advantage to optimize plate thickness due to higher strengths without diminishing the total tank integrity,” said Jan Jochems, chief technical officer for Ivens Construction, the company contracted to build the tanks.