Floating Suction Units: Technical Overview

Floating Suction Units (FSU) are specialized tank internals designed to withdraw clean product from the top layer of a storage tank, above any water and sediment that settles at the tank bottom. By floating on the liquid surface and maintaining the suction inlet just below the surface, FSUs ensure that only the cleanest product is pumped out — critical for aviation fuel, jet fuel, and other high-purity product applications.

The unit consists of a floating pontoon or buoyancy chamber, a flexible articulated suction pipe that pivots as the liquid level changes, and a swivel joint connection to the tank's suction nozzle. As the tank fills and empties, the float rises and falls, keeping the suction inlet submerged 100-300mm below the surface — always above the water/sediment interface.

主要技術規格

應用

• Aviation Fuel Storage: Jet A/A-1, avgas — water and sediment-free product is critical for flight safety
• Refinery Intermediate Storage: Clean product withdrawal from settling tanks
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Crude oil storage where bottom sediment must be excluded