What Can Be Stored in Liquid Storage Tanks?

Before we dive into the substances liquid storage containers can hold, it is important to understand how the inside of a tank is lined. Most of our bulk liquid storage tanks have a Carboline Phenoline 310 liner or equivalent. These liners have been physically tested to ensure they can withstand various oils, chemicals, liquids, semisolids, etc. Still, knowing what you plan to store inside a tank is important before deciding what type of tank you need.

We offer several different kinds of bulk liquid storage tanks, including roll-off boxes, frac tanks, poly tanks and more. Read on to learn about different types of liquid storage tanks.

What can be stored in a bulk liquid storage tank?

Water

All kinds of water can be stored in our water storage tanks:

• Rain/stormwater
• Groundwater
• Wastewater
• Frac water
• Snow (solid and melted)
• Contaminated water (containing anything from concrete grindings to traces of arsenic)
• Distilled water
• Demineralized water
• Saltwater

Gas

The following oils and gases are commonly stored in our fuel storage tanks:

• Natural gas
• Crude oil/petroleum gasoline
• Ethanol
• Jet fuel
• Diesel fuel
• Biodiesel

Oils

In addition to “oil and gas” oil, other types of oil can be safely stored inside our storage tanks:

• Transformer oil
• Mineral oil
• Processing oil
• Quench oil
• Soybean oil
• Cottonseed oil
• Lube oil

Chemicals/acids

Many, but not all, chemicals can be safely stored in a United Rentals tank. Please contact us before storing anything acidic, as these chemicals could eat through the liquid storage tank liner. We have specialized poly storage tanks for more caustic acids, so be sure to discuss your chemical storage tank needs with your United Rentals representative.

The list below contains some of the more common chemicals stored in United Rentals bulk liquid tanks. (Please note: The chemicals below are assumed to be the only chemical per tank and are not assumed to be part of a mixture.)

• Aluminum chloride
• Ammonium nitrate
• Boric acid
• Citric acid
• Fatty acids
• Ferrous chloride
• Hydrochloric acid
• Magnesium hydroxide
• Phosphoric acid
• Sodium hydroxide
• Sulfuric acid (under 65% concentration)

Miscellaneous

There are other items that don’t fall into one of the above categories that can be stored in United Rentals bulk liquid storage tanks, such as:

• Human waste
• Manure
• Mud
• Detergent
• Animal feed
• Animal fat

As you can see, the list of what can be contained in our tanks goes on and on. If you have a liquid storage need, we will likely find the tank to meet it. United Rentals is always here to help.

Contact our Fluid Solutions team to learn about United Rentals' bulk liquid storage tanks.