Viewing tankage as swimming pools A couple of years ago, I suggested a cheap way to build tanks, perhaps, would be to build them in the ground, much like one would build a swimming pool.
At last week's Light Green Machine Institute Conference, one of the suppliers present told me they sell an anaerobic water treatment system that is built this way. The vessels are all concrete and rebar-lined holes in the ground.
The last time I brought up the subject of building tanks this way I was shouted down as being impractical. Apparently not--it has been done. I have asked this supplier to present their system at next year's conference.
In the meantime, I got to thinking: if we designed this correctly and the mill was built in a location where soil and bedrock conditions allowed, such tankage placed under the machine basement could serve not only as the properly designed containment vessels for various process streams, but also as a foundation element in lieu of piles. What a savings!
We will be exploring this further.
